Richard III Society, Inc. Volume XXIV No. 3 Fall, 1999

— William Heuerr Register Staff

EDITOR: Carole M. Rike 4702 Dryades St. • New Orleans, LA 70115 (504) 897-9673 FAX (504) 827-0443 • e-mail: [email protected] © 1999 Richard III Society, Inc., American Branch. No part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means — mechanical, RICARDIAN READING EDITOR: Myrna Smith electrical or photocopying, recording or information storage retrieval — Rt. 1 Box 232B • Hooks, TX 75561 without written permission from the Society. Articles submitted by (903) 547-6609 • FAX: (903) 628-2658 members remain the property of the author. The Ricardian Register is email: [email protected] published four times per year. Subscriptions are available at $18.00 annually. ARTIST: Susan Dexter 1510 Delaware Avenue • New Castle, PA 16105-2674 The Richard III Society is a nonprofit, educational corporation. e--mail: [email protected] Dues, grants and contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Dues are $30 annually for U.S. Addresses; $35 for international. Each additional family member is $5. Members of the American In This Issue Society are also members of the English Society. Members also receive the English publications. All Society publications and items for sale may be purchased either direct at the U.K. Member’s price, or Editorial License, Carole Rike ...... 3 via the American Branch when available. Papers may be borrowed Richard and the Stanleys, Sandra Worth . . . 4 from the English Librarian, but books are not sent overseas. When a Richard III Society 2000 Tour ...... 8 U.S. Member visits the U.K., all meetings, expeditions and other activities are open, including the AGM, where U.S. Members are Middleham Midsummer Mania, Judy Pimental .9 welcome to cast a vote. The Other Side of the Story, Janet Trimbath. . 15 Ricardian Post...... 16 Welcome To New Members ...... 20 Advertise in The Ricardian Register Studies In England ...... 20 Greetings from U.K...... 20 Your ad in the Register will reach an audience of demonstrated mail Exhibitionists Wanted, ...... 21 buyers and prime prospects for books on the late medieval era, as well 1999 Ricardian Tour, Lois Griffiths . . . . 21 as for gift items and other merchandise relating to this period. They Appointment Announcement: Joy Simpson . . 21 are also prospects for lodging, tours and other services related to travel Annual Appreciation Awards ...... 22 in England or on the continent. Classified advertising rates for Ricardian Reading, Myrna Smith . . . . . 23 one-time insertions: Full Page: $100; Half Page: $50; Quarter Page: Margaret of Burgundy, Phil Stone . . . . . 28 $25 Scattered Standards, Judie Gall ...... 29 Send copy with your remittance payable to Richard III Society, 4702 More Medieval Bloopers ...... 30 Dryades Street, New Orleans, LA 70115-5532 or e-mail to Board Chronicles ...... 31 [email protected]. Chapter Contacts...... 32 Membership Application ...... 32 Copy Deadlines: Spring March 15 Summer June 15 Fall September 15 Winter December 15

Society Internet address: http://www.r3.org [email protected]

Changes of address and dues payments to: Peggy Allen, Membership, 1421 Wisteria • Metairie, LA 70005

Fall, 1999 - 2 - Ricardian Register EXECUTIVE BOARD Editorial License

CHAIRMAN: Dr. Sharon D. Michalove 309 Gregory Hall • 810 Wright St.. • Urbana, IL 61801 Carole Rike (217) 333-4145 • e-mail: [email protected] This issue’s cover is a photostat of an 18” square VICE CHAIRMAN: Dawn R. Benedetto original done in the old stipple technique, utilizing 39 Elgin Avenue • Forest Park, IL 60130-1118 only dots of black ink. Quoting the artist, Mr. Wil- (708) 209-1409 • email: [email protected] liam Heuer, “As you can see, I also took the HUGE SECRETARY: Dianne G. Batch 9842 Hawthorn Given Drive • Grosse Ille, MI 48138-2115 liberty of moving Richard’s gaze to look right out at (734)67501801 • email: [email protected] the viewer. I know that’s terminally bad history, but TREASURER: Bonnie Battaglia perhaps it’s good ‘drama’ to involve the viewer directly 5191 Hanks Exchange Road • Placerville, CA 95667 into the controversy.” The original drawing decorates (530) 622-6470 • e-mail: [email protected] the wall above his Richard III bookshelf. And don’t MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN: Peggy Allen we all have at least one of those? 1421 Wisteria • Metairie, LA 70005 (504) 837-0974 Mr. Heuer has been an unofficial Ricardian for 20 e-mail: [email protected] years and has only recently joined the Society. We ap- IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN: Dr. Compton Reeves preciate his contribution and urge him to honor us Dept. of History • Bentley Hall with more of his artistic efforts in the future. Ohio University • Athens, OH 45701-2979 email: reevesc@[email protected] We have just finished up the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in New Orleans. This year’s AGM was chaired by Peggy Allen and reflected her usual COMMITTEES thoughtfulness and courtesy. Although not as heavily attended as some in the past, we had a fun weekend, CHAPTER COORDINATOR: Judie Gall with lots of time for personal updates, browsing the 10071 Sturgeon Lane • Cincinnati, OH 45251 sales office offerings, and getting to know new (513) 742-1472 • e-mail: [email protected] friends. The Trivia Contest moderated by Myrna INTERIM DIR. OF ADVANCEMENT: Joy A. Simpson P. O. Box 12670 • Charleston SC 29422 Smith at the banquet was my personal highlight of the 843-762-1037 • [email protected] evening; Myrna chose three very able participants ON-LINE MEMBER SERVICES: Cheryl Rothwell who challenged the audience to determine who was 6033 Sam Smith Road • Birchwood, TN 37308 • (423) 961-2515 offering the correct definition of various 15th century Fax: (423) 961-2519 • e-mail: [email protected] terms. I had no idea Bonnie Battaglia was such a dry LIBRARIAN: Audio/Visual: Yvonne Saddler wit! Maria Torres was her usual well-versed self, and 719 Apple Brook Lane • Poulsbo, WA 98370 Janet Trimbath flirted with the audience whilst trying e-mail: [email protected] to confound us. Bonnie was the panel member who LIBRARIAN: Fiction: Jeanne Faubell most consistently bluffed us. 2215 Westmoreland • Falls Church, VA 22043 • (703) 532-3430 Oh, the company of Ricardians! There is nothing LIBRARIAN: Research & Non-Fiction: Helen Maurer quite like it — whether that be singly, two avid indi- 24001 Salero Lane • Mission Viejo, CA 92691 • (714) 768-0417 email: [email protected] viduals discussing the subject, or in a large group where we are able to have all sorts of inside jokes and RESEARCH OFFICER: Dr. Sharon D. Michalove 309 Gregory Hall • 810 Wright St.. • Urbana, IL 61801 shared historical insights. Much more in the Winter (217) 333-4145 • email: [email protected] issue about the AGM, and some pictures! PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER: Marianna K. Preston In this issue is a lengthy article by Judy Pimental 143 Beach Plum Pl #A • Lewes, DE 19958-1737 about Marilynn Summers’ birthday celebration at SALES OFFICER: Jennifer Reed Middleham during Coronation Weekend. Marilynn 44 Bartemus Trail • Nashua, NH 03063 also provided me with an article on the weekend, but I email: [email protected] chose to use Judy’s, as it may be the last chance we SCHALLEK MEMORIAL/GRAD: Nancy Northcott have for awhile to hear from her. Judy will be leaving 1915 Euclid Avenue • Charlotte, NC 28203-4707 for a Peace Corps stint in January, and will be sorely (704) 334-7793 • [email protected] missed by her Ricardian friends, online and off. I SCHOOLS COORDINATOR: Anne Vineyard hope you enjoy the shared experience of Marilynn’s 4014 Broken Bow Lane • Garland, TX 75044 [email protected] birthday. This was an enormous undertaking on her part, and most of us will be envious of her concept — WEBMASTER: Laura V. Blanchard 2041 Christian St. • Philadelphia, PA 19146 realized — of riding a horse into Middleham Castle. (215) 985-1445 • FAX (215) 985-1446 That her special day was enhanced by so many email:[email protected] Ricardian friends must have been a special boon.

Ricardian Register - 3 - Fall, 1999 Richard and the Stanleys

Sandra Worth hen Lord Thomas Stanley came to Richard confrontation with Lord Stanley’s men, who blocked Wrequesting permission to retire to his estates his path. that fateful summer of 1485, Richard could have re- Unknown to him, Lord Stanley, who was married fused. With a motion of the hand he could have sent to Warwick’s sister, had sent Warwick assurances of the ‘Wily Fox’ into custody and eliminated the his support. After Warwick lost the Battle of threat Stanley posed to the security of his throne Lose-Coat Field, he fled west to Stanley for the suc- and to his life. Yet he chose to grant permission, cor he had been promised, but Stanley, as a result of knowing full well the danger inherent in that deci- the skirmish with Richard, had lost his nerve and sion and what it might cost him. “hastily deciding that the Earl’s chances were dim,” Why? Since the solution facing Richard was both changed his mind.ii Warwick was forced to flee Eng- simple and obvious, the answer to this question could land. On Warwick’s triumph against Edward the fol- not be more complex. It embraces both the character lowing October, however, Stanley rode into London of Lord Stanley and his brother Sir William and the at his side, somehow managing to excuse his previous very essence of who Richard really was, his life’s expe- desertion, a testimony to his glib tongue and powers rience and how he saw himself, his view of his king- of persuasion. ship and his relationship not only with the Stanleys, but with all his nobles, his people, and with God. Like rivers pouring into a sea, these all fed into Richard’s Marguerite D’Anjou, the Duke of psyche to culminate in that last critical, and ultimately York, the Earl of Warwick, King fatal, decision before Bosworth. Edward and even Richard himself Richard had to be as aware as everyone else how had all shared the dubious honor of Thomas Stanley had earned his nickname ‘Wily Fox.’ having been betrayed by the The Stanleys were survivors. They deserted their al- Stanleys, not once, but several times. lies time and again, yet always managed to wiggle back into favor in time to ride at the winner’s side. Marguerite D’Anjou, the Duke of York, the Earl of Lord Stanley’s artful way with words and the suc- Warwick, King Edward and even Richard himself cess of his unique ‘divide and conquer’ strategy had all shared the dubious honor of having been be- whereby each member of the family would, on cue, trayed by the Stanleys, not once, but several times. take a different side, had saved their lives and their Each time, the Stanleys were not only forgiven, but fortunes many a time and would do so again on at rewarded. About the Stanleys, Paul Murray Kendall least three other occasions: Tewkesbury; Hasting’s writes: conspiracy; and Buckingham’s revolt. One can imag- ine Lord Stanley’s explanation after the destruction of In a century of civil strife, fierce partisanship, broken the Lancastrian cause at Tewkesbury:...Hehadbeen causes, in which many of the lords and gentry had been forced into taking King Henry’s side . . . His heart had brought to ruin and extinction, Lord Stanley and his always been Yorkist . . . He had avoided the battle, brother Sir William had thrived. They thrived by hadn’t he? ...Andhisbrother had remained true to daring to make politics their trade, by sloughing off Edward. Not only did Edward forgive Stanley the be- the encumbrances of loyalty and honor, by developing trayal of his oath — canceled by the betrayal of his an ambiguity of attitude which enabled them to join oath to Henry — but he drew him into his intimate the winning side, and by exploiting the relative ease circle and made him Steward of his Household.iii De- with which treason in this age might be lived down, spite Lord Stanley’s slippery tongue, one cannot provided it were neither too passionate, too overt, nor imagine how he managed to extricate himself from too damaging.i Hastings’ plot in which he was caught red-handed. But manage, he did, and when his new wife, Henry Richard’s first personal encounter with Thomas Tudor’s mother, became the prime mover of Stanley’s treason came during the troubles with Buckingham’s revolt and lost her estates, Richard gave Warwick in the early spring of 1469, when he was them to him, along with additional grants of lands, an seventeen. On his way north from Wales to Edward’s appointment as Constable of England. Paul Murray side during the Robin of Redesdale rebellion, he had a Kendall observes:

Fall, 1998 - 4 - Ricardian Register Granted his smooth pliancy, his shrewd and wary In taking that throne, Richard was forced to set maneuvering, his wonderful capacity to inspire aside Edward’s sons. The fact that he did so to save confidence, still, at a remove of five centuries, it the realm from civil war and his own family from de- remains puzzling that he so often escaped the struction by the machinations of an evil queen could consequences of his betrayals.iv have brought little comfort to a man in conflict with himself. For Richard, a pious and gallant knight who Indeed it does, and it also remains baffling why a placed loyalty above all else and saw himself as one man who had proved himself a traitor at every oppor- who had betrayed his brother, there could be but one tunity would then be heaped with honors that would path of atonement. That path lay in good works for augment his powers so dangerously. If Richard had his people and in resting his crown not on force, but been stupid or a fool, one could understand, but that on loyalty. Only then could he expiate himself from was certainly not the case. what he saw as his great sin. Just as he had once “kept himself within his own lands and set out to acquire At this point we must examine Richard, the man. the loyalty of his people through favors and justice”, It was as obvious to Richard as to everyone else that if he now set out to do the same with his realm:vi Henry Tudor triumphed, Lord Stanley would be step-father to a King; that if Buckingham’s rebellion He had to rule by merit because such rule was good in had prospered, Stanley would have betrayed him; that the judgment of Heaven and because it might even be he had, indeed, betrayed him with Hastings. Richard good enough to mitigate his transgressions.vii lost no time executing Hastings, a man with whom he had shared Edward’s love and many a peril, yet he par- doned Stanley and then permitted him to carry the Richard’s first and only parliament which gave us mace at his coronation, an ancestral honor belonging bail, the presumption of innocence, the statute of lim- to the dukes of Norfolk. Kendall, a scholar of Shake- itations, and the protections against tainted jury ver- speare and human nature, affords us the clearest ex- dicts and corrupt jurors is unprecedented and planation of these seemingly incomprehensible unparalleled. During Richard’s progress through the actions: realm in 1484 he was offered money to defray his ex- penses by the various town he visited, but he declined all their offers, “affirming that he would rather have To forgive Stanley was a kind of twisted expiation for their hearts than their treasure.”viii An observer, Dr. the execution of a better and a dearer man. Besides, Thomas Langton, Bishop of St. David’s and later of Stanley was a timeserver. With Stanley Richard felt Salisbury, records this verdict: “He contents the peo- v no competition in loyalties. ple wherever he goes best that ever did prince; for many a poor man that hath suffered wrong many days Loyalty, Richard’s strongest trait, is reflected in his have been relieved and helped by him . . . God hath motto Loyaulte Me Lie. When faced with the critical sent him to us for the weal of us all.”ix Clearly, by the choice between his love for Anne and loyalty to his justice and goodness of his rule Richard sought to sat- king, unlike Lancelot, he chose loyalty. No doubt the isfy himself, his subjects, and God. As Kendall notes: decision cost him dear since from that point on, when faced with disloyalty in those he loved and had trusted Seldom has a rule so brief been so impregnated by the implicitly — Hastings, St. Leger, Buckingham — his character of the ruler; seldom has a ruler spoken with reaction was swift, violent, deadly. He could pardon so personal an accent. Both the government and those Stanley because Stanley meant nothing to him and, it governed he conceived in intimate terms. He wore therefore, he expected nothing from him. Hastings, the function of the Crown like a coat of his own however, had been friend, kin, and ally. His sin was making: it contained and represented him. Thus, he too great to be borne. was unusually sensitive of his self-imposed duties to Perhaps it was during the break with Warwick that his subjects, but he was also unusually vulnerable to x Richard chose his motto of loyalty. Seventeen years the attacks of his conscience. old, alone among the Woodvilles he hated, bereft of the girl he loved and the family who had meant home Richard’s efforts met with great initial success; his and hearth to him, he must have suffered greatly be- subjects were content. Buckingham’s revolt collapsed fore reaching his agonizing decision that loyalty almost before it began; relative peace and order bound him to his King. This loyalty to his brother the wrapped the kingdom; and his enemies had difficulty King would continue to define him, not only in the finding charges to bring against him.xi Philipe de eyes of the world, but in his own eyes — until the very Commynes, a French statesman and friend to Louis moment when he assumed the throne. XI and Henry Tudor, noted that the beneficence of

Ricardian Register - 5 - Fall, 1999 Richard & the Stanleys Richard’s rule was acknowledged by the mass of the came the Wily Fox to request permission to retire to people. Cheshire to tend the business of his estates.xv Kendall Then, in April, 1484, Fate intervened and every- notes that from the day Richard took Lord Stanley thing changed. Before Richard and Anne could reach into his favor after the execution of Hastings, there is Middleham, their only child, ten-year old Edward, no record that Lord Stanley had ever left his side. died. His death at Easter came almost exactly a year to Stanley’s excuse was transparent and Richard knew it. the date of King Edward’s own death. This tragedy Yet he allowed Lord Stanley to ride away because his was followed within the year by the death of Richard’s allegiance had to be freely given, or in the critical hour queen, Anne. It is impossible to comprehend the Richard would be evading the test he had set for him- magnitude of Richard’s loss. Anne was bound to him self and his rule. by blood as well as by marriage. She had been his companion since the tender years of their childhood. She was his helpmate and the grand passion of his life. Her father had been his own surrogate father, and she had shared his greatest joys, and the burden of his greatest sorrows. Now Anne, whom Richard had loved as long as he could remember, was dead. All were dead: his Neville family; his brothers; his son; his daughter, Katherine; and now his beloved wife. He stood alone; the last of his line. If his nephews had been murdered — by Buckingham or Margaret Beau- fort or John Morton — he must have held himself re- sponsible and wondered whether the Hand of God had dealt him divine retribution. What else could ex- plain these tragedies, the coincidental timing of young Edward’s death with King Edward’sxii, and the darkening of the sun at the hour of Anne’s death — the sun, which had been his brother’s proud symbol? Nottingham: The Castle of His Care As Richard left for Nottingham to await Henry Tu- dor that summer he had to have been filled with an Commander and captain though he was, Richard agony of doubt over the righteousness of his course. listened to another language than strategy and he was He had taken the crown, and the crown had cost him moved by a deeper compulsion than reason.xvi Rich- all whom he’d held dear: ard’s councilors must have been stunned. In the end, aware of his duty to his men whose lives he was risk- He had recreated Clarence in Buckingham, and ing — and perhaps, caring more for theirs than for his Buckingham had promptly fulfilled the recreation by own — Richard set a condition, though it meant betraying him. He had taken the throne from blunting the edge of his test: Lord Stanley was to be Edward’s son, and Heaven had soon after taken his replaced by his son, Lord Strange. Stanley complied, own son from him. The woman to whom he had given knowing full well that his son’s life was surety for his the life of his heart had sunk into the grave, stricken by own good behavior: despair as much as by disease. His efforts to rule well had been mocked by rumor; the quiet of the realm and Like his father before him, who had groped for the his own peace poisoned by conspiracy. His courage had throne so awkwardly because he was playing a role not diminished; his will to pursue the path he had alien to his nature, Richard had persuaded himself to marked out did not falter. But he could not sink the assume the scepter; but he could not wield it xiii man in the King. comfortably because he could not assume with it the double conviction that he had done what he ought and Assailed by these doubts, facing a bleak futurexiv, that his one object must be to keep what he had got.xvii no longer able to trust himself to make the right choices, shattered by grief and brooding on his losses, Stanley’s betrayal could have held no surprise for Richard no doubt turned to a higher authority for Richard. Yet there was one last surprise in store for guidance. Let God decide his destiny; he would do him. At Bosworth, in response to his demand that nothing to help himself. Lord Stanley join the royal army or his son would die, In this state of mind, as he waited at the “Castle of Stanley sent back the reply — perhaps because he His Care” in Nottingham on the eve of invasion, knew Richard would never take an innocent life — “I

Fall, 1999 - 6 - Ricardian Register have other sons." To a devoted and loving father in xii Poison was rumored at the time and may indeed have the depths of emotional despair over the loss of his been a possibility.If so, Prince Edward’s death came as boy, this had to have come as a bewildering, shattering a direct result of Henry Tudor’s thirst for Richard’s revelation. The ‘Wily Fox’ had proven himself more crown. This horrific possibility no doubt occurred to repulsive and reprehensible than Richard could ever Richard, further fracturing his fragile emotional have imagined. At that moment the world that was health. inhabited by creatures such as Stanley — and Henry xiii Kendall, op. cit., p. 403 Tudor — must have seemed to Richard an unbearably hideous place. Moments after he received Stanley’s xiv The prospect of a marriage with Johanna of Portugal reply, he made his suicidal decision to charge behind — who wished to be a nun and was nothing like Anne enemy lines — and pass directly in front of Stanley’s — could have offered little hope of personal happi- position. ness for Richard. Moreover, he had evidently come to recognize the need to rest his rule on force instead of After Richard’s death, Sir William Stanley loyalty in the future and could not have relished this crowned Henry Tudor with Richard’s battered crown notion. Witness his address to his men just before the which he retrieved from a thorn bush. Despite this Battle of Bosworth where, according to the Croyland grand gesture, he was later executed by Tudor for chronicler, the king, in rather weary fashion, told his treason. men that whichever side won the victory, it would At least, for one Stanley, luck had finally run out. prove the utter destruction of England, for he was de- termined to crush his opponents once and for all, References: while his enemies doubtless planned to wreak ven- geance on his own men. i Richard The Third, New York, 1954, pp. 403-404 xv Richard called Nottingham Castle the “Castle of his ii Paul Murray Kendall, Ibid, p.404 Care” from a poem by Piers Plowman, since it was at iii Ibid, p.405 Nottingham that he received the news of his son’s death. iv Ibid, p.405 xvi Kendall, op. cit., p. 407 v Ibid, p.250 xvii Ibid, p. 419 vi Anthony Cheetham, The Life and Times of Richard III, Shooting Star Press, New York, 1995; p. 91 About the Author: vii Kendall, op. cit., p. 379 A transplanted Canadian with deep U.S. roots grown viii Harl. 433, f. 110; John Rous, Historia Regum Angliae. during thirty years, mostly in Texas, Sandra was educated in Rous, a Warwickshire monk, compiled the history of England and spent half her childhood there. At the age of the Earls of Warwick in the Rous Rolls. After Rich- fifteen she acquired an English step-mother and, thirty years ard’s death he attempted to win Henry Tudor’s favor later, an English son-in-law named Richard. by inventing the tale that Richard was born after two Sandra holds an honors B.A. in Political Science and years in the womb with talons and a full set of gnash- Economics from the University of Toronto, and has been ing teeth. published once by the University of Toronto Press, an ix Anthony Cheetham, op.cit.; pp. 215-216 annotated bibliography, Metropolitan Reorganization. For the past twenty years, she has lived in Houston with her x Kendall op.cit., p. 370 husband, three daughters, and usually, two dogs. xi Kendall, op. cit., p. 385

Ricardian Register - 7 - Fall, 1999 Ricardian Revels

Divertissements and Festivities in Medieval England

July 8 – July 18, 2000

instrels, M ummers, and erriment all round!

Come join us for a millennium celebration with a fabulous twist! This special tour of Richard III’s England will feature medieval entertainment and pastimes, and we are the invited guests. Join in the fun of the Middleham Festival! Frolic at the Sheriff Hutton Medieval Fair! Marvel at the York Mystery Plays! Enjoy a falconry display, visit a royal hunting lodge, and much more! This delightful tour is perfect for those with a keen interest in Richard III and England’s medieval period in general. Sites we will visit having associations with Richard III include, but are not limited to, the famous city of York; Middleham, Sheriff Hutton, Richmond, Barnard, Skipton, Penrith, Pickering, Bolton and Warkworth castles; and the churches at Penrith, Sutton Cheyney and Dadlington. We will be treated to an excellent guided tour of Bosworth Battlefield, where Richard III lost his crown and his life. Also included will be such outstanding venues as the exciting restoration of medieval Barley Hall in York, magnificent Durham Cathedral, the beautiful ruins of Rievaulx Abbey, ancient Lindisfarne, Hexham Abbey, and a scenic tour of the Lake District. We will receive a warm welcome from our English Ricardian friends in whose company we will enjoy several special occasions. Traveling by comfortable mid-size coach, our accommodation will be in select smaller hotels and inns in charming towns or the lovely countryside, well away from large package tour groups. There will be 11 full days of leisurely touring, with all admissions, accommodations, 9 evening meals, and full English breakfast daily. Our tour coordinator is Linda Treybig, long-time member of the Richard III Society, specialist on travel in Great Britain, and director/escort of 9 previous Ricardian tours. Tour membership is limited to a maximum of 14 persons. Note: Preference will be given to members of the Richard III Society; however, members of the general public are welcome as well. As several persons have already requested information or made commitments, you are urged to respond as soon as possible if you are interested in joining our friendly and enthusiastic little band of travelers for a unique experience and a truly memorable tour of 15th century England! On or before November 1, 1999, brochures will be sent to all members of the American Branch Richard III Society, and full details will appear on the Richard III Society web site. For further details: Visit the Richard III Society web site: http//www.r3.org/travel/, or contact:

Linda Treybig 340 Sprague Rd., # 303 Berea, OH 44017 Telephone: (440) 239-0645 E-mail: [email protected]

Fall, 1999 - 8 - Ricardian Register Middleham Midsummer Mania

Judy Pimental n July 4, 1999, long-time member Marilynn OSummers was to celebrate her 50th birthday. As many are already aware, Marilynn is suffering from an illness that has no sure cure, and what cures may be are literally worse than the disease. So, Becky & Phil Marilynn decided to have her birthday party and Vacara at make it a big one. She selected Middleham Castle, Middleham a site dear to the hearts of all true Ricardians! On previous visits, Marilynn had made the acquain- tance of influential English Heritage employees, and she was granted use of the Castle precincts for three hours on the evening of 4 July. The plans for the event were firmed up in the early Spring, disseminated widely over the internet, and everyone who could conceivably be there scram- bled to make reservations. Having made several trips to Middleham in the past, Marilynn knew all the best places to stay, and had booked several accommo- dations in advance. It was difficult for Marilynn to make all the arrangements by herself, and Society member Becky Vacara, an American living in Wales Phil and Roo for a tour of the “Banana” exhibit at the and a truly dynamite organizer, assisted her. Museum of London (we called it that because of a Marilynn’s birthday nicely coincided with the controversial archaeological “find” made at excava- Middleham summer festival week, which is held tions of an old Tudor palace near the Thames — the each year on the weekend closest to the date of Rich- old “Richmond” palace, beloved of the two Tudor ard’s coronation. As such, there were a number of Henries). events to attend, and there was literally no room left We lost little time in heading for the Castle, and at any nearby inn for latecomers. making or firming the acquaintance of the English Marilynn’s own party was impressive, consisting Heritage representatives and any number of very of Marilynn herself, her husband Alan (“Lanny”), friendly and talkative cats that lived in the area. We her daughter Diana, friends Tammy Summerville, all had dinner in the patio of the Black Swan, where Frances Carroll (a British citizen), and Meri Swayze. the Vacaras and Paul Trevor Bale were staying, and I was taking advantage of Becky’s kindness and hos- where Geoffrey Richardson would stay when he ar- pitality; my “headquarters” for the trip was Becky’s rived on Saturday. The fare at the Black Swan was home in Magor, Wales. The guests and other hang- excellent and reasonably-priced. At midsummer in ers-on began convening in Middleham on Friday, the northern latitudes, it stayed light until quite late July 2. Becky’s “party” consisted of Becky, her hand- (and was daylight again very early in the morning — some and indulgent husband Phil, 3-year-old son although I was about the only one affected by that “’Roo” and me. phenomenon, probably because I was overexcited to Many of the participants had “met” through the begin with). American Branch e-mail discussion list; they were After dinner, it was back to the Castle for already well acquainted before ever meeting one an- Marilynn, Becky, Phil, Roo, Paul and me. By that other face-to-face. There was little awkwardness in- time, the Castle was officially closed. As it was still volved in forming a cohesive and congenial group. daylight, Marilynn decided she wanted to be inside. When Becky, Phil and I arrived on Friday after- She climbed over the drystone wall, a very easy thing noon, Marilynn had gone to the nearest train station to do. Becky couldn’t let Marilynn do it alone, and to pick up Paul Trevor Bale, member of the Parent joined her. To my eternal regret, I declined to break (British) Society, and frequent contributor to the “the law.” I learned later, to make my regret even e-mail discussions. I had arranged to meet Paul my more poignant, that even the locals frequently visit first day in London, where he and I joined Becky, the castle “after hours.” What really hurt was that

Ricardian Register - 9 - Summer, 1999 Middleham Midsummer Mania while I was standing outside, Marilynn and Becky either! In desperation, I wandered back to the had observed a “manifestation,” in that Marilynn had square, tried that phone again with similar results. called upon Richard to appear, and the two heard Then it occurred to me that I might have written (believe it or not) the clanking of metal on metal, Geoffrey’s number incorrectly. Sure enough, with where no metal was apparent in the area to explain the assistance of BT’s information, I reached away the phenomenon. This was the first of two Geoffrey — bear in mind, it was still prior to 7:30 “ghosts” which manifested themselves for Marilynn a.m. His granddaughter answered the phone, and and Becky, while I was nearby and totally unaware — summoned Geoffrey. “It’s some American-sounding their psychic connections are apparently much stron- lady.” I “introduced” myself thus: “What American ger than mine. woman do you know who would be so rude as to call Eventually, all of us retired to our lodgings. I was at such an ungodly hour?” “Only one that I can think located at the Castle Keep, in a lovely room all to my- of.” Well, he was dead right on that one. I pleaded self. As I am a chronic early riser (hugely out of step and otherwise coerced the knightly Geoffrey (he of a with the rest of the world most of the time), I was up very deep and impressive voice) into acceding to my and out well before breakfast would be served any- whim. where. I was treated, although the morning was over- I walked around Middleham, sat at the base of the cast, to the sight and sound of many of Middleham’s market cross and had a delightful conversation with a famous racehorses clattering up the hill from their gentleman from Alberta until the rest of his party ar- stables, on their way to be exercised on the North rived, watched the preliminary set-up for the “medi- Yorkshire dales. What lucky young people are they eval market” to be held in the square Saturday and who find summer jobs as jockeys-in-the-making at Sunday, had breakfast at the Castle Keep, and sat Middleham! They came in several waves, all the down at a table outside the Black Swan to await the beautiful horses. I was so fortunate to have seen the descent of Becky, Phil and Roo and/or Paul, or any- whole routine and snapped many pictures of this one I knew. Presently, a small red car parked close to daily event. I heard one of the locals complaining to the Black Swan, and a very tall gentleman emerged. another that he had been bothered by the noise that Was it Geoffrey?, I wondered — it was not near morning and I could not understand how he could enough to 10 a.m., I thought, so didn’t have the cour- not have been accustomed to it. age to ask. Eventually, I tagged up with Becky, Phil and Roo, In 1981, I visited Middleham only to stop at the and Paul. As it turns out, Geoffrey had already castle itself, and had somehow forgotten the town it- checked in, so it had indeed been he in the red car. I self. I was surprised that there was so much of it. accosted him in his room, introduced myself, re- None of the immediate clusters of buildings appeared trieved my film with hastily-expressed gratitude, and to be less than 200 years old, so it must have been much the same in 1981. I explored and eventually found a newish housing estate or two close by. Actually, the reason I found the housing estates was that — horror of horrors — I was less than four days into my three-week trip and was running out of film! My preferred film was not available in Middleham and I refused to accept substitutes. I would be forced to travel into the nearest larger town to find anything. This was Leyburn, approximately two miles away (it turned out to be a fairly large town, at that, although I was not after all forced to stop there). I was overcome by one of those brilliant thoughts that seem to occur when one is truly desper- ate; I would call my dear friend (as yet unmet in per- son) Geoffrey Richardson and ask him to get some on his way up to Middleham that morning! I had Geoffrey’s phone number with me, but I could not get the pay phone in the square to work. I didn’t want to wake anyone (else), so I asked a local to help, and he couldn’t make it work either. He directed me to another pay phone in a nearby housing estate — up Entertainers at the Middleham Fair the hill, naturally. I couldn’t get that phone to work,

Summer, 1999 - 10 - Ricardian Register joined Becky, Phil, Roo, Paul, Marilynn, et al., for a trip to Castle Bolton. Geoffrey had business to con- duct. As an author, he is well known to the good folk of English Heritage and the local bookstores. Lanny stayed at the charming Waterford House lodgings (probably named in honor of its impressive collection of crystal), working on his own book, when there wouldn’t be a troupe of noisy females running in and out. I used some of Geoffrey’s film to photograph Cas- tle Bolton, with a few shots of the impressive scenery of the surrounding country. I don’t know what it is about old castle ruins that I find so photogenic, but I had to reload at least once. There is quite a lot left of Castle Bolton, and it has some very interesting dis- plays — dungeon, chapel, garderobes, etc. Naturally, I missed the stellar attraction, completely unknown to all but a select few. Marilynn entered a room I had vacated but a moment before; Becky was nearby. Marilynn saw or sensed some movement in an al- cove. She alerted Becky, very quick on the “trigger” of her digital camera, who snapped a picture. When she checked it out a day or two later, there appeared Marilynn Summers and Becky Vacara at to be a ghostly figure. Phil and some friends from Middleham Castle with friend another e-mail discussion group, who had the tech- nology and skill, brought out the “best of the ghost” My presence was requested at the Waterford and the picture was disseminated widely. Therefore, House, to help make decorations for the horse! I had missed the second manifestation. Horse? What horse? One of the added attractions We drove back to Middleham, and went our indi- was that equinophile(?) Marilynn wanted to arrive at vidual ways, intending to meet at the jousting exhibit her party on horseback. Becky had somehow found a near the Castle at a certain time. I went by myself, horse, and Marilynn had tried it out that morning. stayed for awhile, didn’t see anyone I knew, and so I The stablemistress seemed to think Marilynn could- wandered off. By the time I found Becky, the joust- n’t handle the elderly horse, which had glaucoma, ing was over. I was not particularly impressed by the tending to render the poor animal more skittish than exhibition, having seen better “at home.” The draw not and permission to use the horse was withdrawn. was seeing it done in a place where it seemed “natu- Becky spoke with the jousting people, who would ral.” Nor was the medieval market particularly have graciously donated one of theirs to Marilynn’s impressive. cause, but they were already packed up and on their way to another venue. Several of us assembled at the There was a re-enactment of some sort within the Waterford House to make caparisons for a horse Castle precincts but I was too late to grasp the thread which might not be. of what was going on. I did notice the actor, whose While we were busy, Becky disappeared. In the name I do not know, who was portraying Richard. If time she was gone, she accomplished quite a bit. he wasn’t exactly the “dead spit” of Richard, he was First, she and Paul visited the nearby Jervaulx Abbey fairly close. He graciously posed for a picture. To my ruins. The other major accomplishment was that eternal regret, I appear to have lost at least one roll of Becky found another horse. Back at Middleham, she exposed film — this one. and Marilynn visited a pub. They were talking about Some of Marilynn’s designs for her big day had the disappointment of losing the horse. Someone in been finalized well in advance. Others were tacked the pub had one that might be available. As on ad hoc as she went along. One request that most Marilynn tells the story, Becky flattered, begged, co- of us tried to honor was to appear in medieval cos- erced or otherwise “worked” the horse’s owner into tume. Marilynn even provided a number of the cos- lending the horse. There was a proviso. First, we tumes herself. Becky had gone to great lengths to would have to catch the horse! The horse was loose have one made — it didn’t fit just right, so there was in a pasture with sheep, one field away from the loca- last-minute scrambling to get it all together. tion of the “original” horse, about a quarter-mile

Ricardian Register - 11 - Fall, 1999 Middleham Midsummer Mania outside of the town center and the Castle. Becky them their due, the drivers did tend to slow down. I brought the saddle, bridle, and a girth that might not could not tell if it was due to British politeness or fit. This was Saturday, and the party was set for shock at what they saw! We proceeded with as much Sunday; there was time, yet. Becky, Marilynn, caution as possible. As we got closer to the center of Tammy and I rode down to check out the horse. town, word must have been passed along somehow, Becky had a pack of peppermint Rollos (“life savers”), because everyone who could conceivably do so was to be used as bait, that someone had told her no horse watching the spectacle — the beautiful lady mounted could resist, along with the standard carrots and ap- on horseback, so unexpected even on this special ples. We eventually found the right field and the weekend. Marilynn and Fergie both rose to the occa- sheep. The horse was not to be seen, but only because sion. Fergie, of course, accepted the occasional bribe she was standing at the bottom of the meadow. of carrot, apple or Rollo as her due. Except for a few When the sheep gave warning, she came into sight, instances, she behaved as regally as the great lady to investigate us. The horse was a draft horse of un- seated on her back. We made it up to the Castle known breed — she was just big! Her name, we were without major incident, Marilynn and I (the uppity told, was “Fergie” because she had a very broad beam. peasant) giving the “royal” wave along the way, and Fergie turned out to be one of the calmest, most smiling, smiling, until the smiles were fairly locked agreeable horses one could ever wish to meet. We into place. We were enjoying ourselves immensely. talked to her, petted her and made friends, and then It is possible that we were photographed by the left for the evening. BBC, although we may never know for sure. We were Next day, Marilynn decided she wanted gold told later that the Beeb had sent a team to cover the fringe attached to the bridle for special effect. By this “official” festivities that day. Everyone who had a time, the pressure was really on — only a few hours to camera handy appears to have used it. No doubt go before the big event. Would everything fall neatly Marilynn, Fergie and I will be anonymously immor- into place? Would it be a disaster from start to finish? tal in many family albums. While the other “girls” worked on attaching the he- raldic designs to the makeshift “horse blanket,” I made a few false starts, but finally got the fringe at- tached loosely to the reins. Then I found that the bri- dle had been assembled higgledy-piggledy, and was twisted. The leather had not been well maintained, so I had a bit of a problem disassembling it and putt- ing it right. But it all came together, somehow. The caparison looked perfect. My job was to assist Marilynn in catching the horse and leading horse and rider to the castle. As I was to be dressed as a peasant, I didn’t have to worry very much — it was fitting, somehow. I wore my “tennies” and packed my sandals for later, along with my camera and photography accoutrements in my backpack. I figured the “tennies” were better for horse-catching than sandals. We found Fergie, gave her some treats, and got her “dressed.” It was apparent that we could not use the saddle, as the leather girth was insufficient to go around Fergie’s girth. But she stood still and coopera- tive for the bridling and the caparisoning. Marilynn would have to ride bareback. With some reservations on both our parts, I gave Marilynn the standard clasped-hands boost and she mounted. After a mo- ment, she felt secure enough, and we started off. Marilynn looked every bit the gorgeous Lady Anne she wished to be. We started up the road, a quarter of a mile or more to the Castle. Fergie was a cart horse, so was fairly secure walk- Marilynn as Lady Anne ing along the road, with cars zooming by. To give

Fall, 1999 - 12 - Ricardian Register “Richard” was there to greet his lady upon arrival. The actor who had portrayed Richard at the reenactment had consented to take a small part in our drama. Becky had engaged a piper for a special ceremony to take place, and Becky had the piper ap- pear to pipe the Lady Anne into her home. Unfortu- nately, this gave Fergie her only “bad” moment. She was frightened by the unfamiliar noise. The piper was silenced, the horse calmed. For the first time in perhaps several hundred years, a horse crossed the “drawbridge” and entered the Castle grounds. We passed through the gate and into the precincts, where Richard helped the Lady Anne to dismount. They processed into the Great Hall, to greet their guests and well-wishers. As peasant-in-charge, it was my job to walk Fergie back to her pasture. Geoffrey told me later that he had stood bemused as Marilynn and I had ap- proached the castle. He was expecting Marilynn on horseback, to be sure, but who the h*** was the per- son leading the horse? “That was a ton-and-a-half of horse, young lady! Are you mad?” (or words to that effect – I was too flattered at being called “young lady” that I didn’t quite get it all). “Why did they pick the two smallest women in the group to do such a feckless thing?!” Geoffrey Richardson and Paul Trevor Bale Among the other guests at the party were the obliging English Heritage people and Pam and Bill Benstead, Parent Society members. Almost every- down the road to say goodbye to Fergie. She was still one Marilynn had become acquainted with while in there, almost exactly where I had left her the evening Middleham was also there. There were a few gate- before, as if time meant nothing to her. I assured her crashers who thought that the affair must be public, she had been such a good horse, the surprise hit of part of the faire celebration. the evening. I fed her a couple of apples, several car- rots, and a full pack of Rollos, said a fond adieu, and The meal was beautifully catered. There were ac- went in search of my own breakfast. Only later did it tors and musicians providing appropriate back- occur to me to worry that she might have developed a ground entertainment, sometimes unfortunately bad case of colic. I don’t suppose I will ever know. drowned out by the escalating conversations. There was an exquisite birthday cake, done by one of the ca- At Towton battlefield, Geoffrey gave us a marvel- terer’s assistants, with beautiful sugar Yorkist roses ous guided tour and commentary. We also visited an and an exquisite white boar for decorations. I important nearby church, where Lord Dacre had snagged one of the roses as my “due,” but Marilynn been buried, and had a pleasant pub lunch. appropriately took possession of the boar. Eventually, Lanny had to go home a few days after the party. the party was “adjourned” to Middleham’s Key Cen- Marilynn stayed to do research for a very important tre, a new community center available for various project she was working on, accompanied by Fra and purposes. The entertainers were there, too, and the Tammy and Diana. Among their later activities, party continued for several hours. they visited Althorp in Northamptonshire, where All too soon, the time arrived to call the celebra- Diana was photographed with Charles, Earl tion to an end. Everyone was weary, but reluctant to Spencer. give up the great feeling we all experienced. It was an The Vacaras and I were present at a reenactment event completely worth waiting for and attending, at Tewkesbury the following Sunday. While not even with a few snags and frustrating experiences. quite as polished in some respects as a well-arranged Monday morning, we went our separate ways. My Renaissance Faire in the U.S., the battle reenactment early-rising eccentricity was an asset that day. The was realistic enough to impress even the most jaded grocery/convenience shops opened fairly early, so I of observers. In fact, there was a casualty. I do not made a few purchases and trotted (well, ambled) know if it was from actual “battle injury” or simply

Ricardian Register - 13 - Fall, 1999 Middleham Midsummer Mania heat prostration, but an ambulance had to be called to a strange feeling in this room; the air had a thick haze we remove the wounded person. hadn’t noticed in the other castle rooms. Marilynn There was a reenactment at Sheriff Hutton that thought she saw a misty figure move in an alcove in the weekend, as well. Not for the first time, I wished for guardroom, I didn’t see anything there when I looked. We the ability to clone myself for a day. were talking about spirits and I said that they never leave We had arranged to meet friends from another us proof, the closest people ever get is the picture, I would e-mail list, and I went off with Dave Mundy and Jude love to take a picture like that. I crossed the room and Lockett for a few days. I was treated to a quick tour looked at the garderobe. When I turned to come out I of the Cotswolds, where I had not previously spent jumped, in a split second I had seen something orange, it any significant time — the Cotswolds are every bit as was small and moving quickly about the size of a cat and beautiful as they have long been touted to be. I saw a then it was gone. I wasn’t sure what I had seen, there was bit of Coventry, and was taken to Bosworth (where no real shape to it, and it was gone in a split second. We there was enough breeze that day to fly the heraldic found my husband Phil and returned to the guardroom standards) and Sutton Cheyney. An unexpected with him. I was looking into the alcove where Marilynn sight was a 19th century memorial to Piers Gaveston, had seen the figure, and I took a photo of that alcove. My not too far from Coventry, on private land, reachable husband, who is a bit of a physic, then turns to me and only on foot, through a jungle of brambles and asks, “How did you know where?” I answered Marilynn nettles. told me. We had not told him about the alcove, and he The Middleham group met again at Hampton also picked up on that area. I moved a few feet to my left Court. Fra is a registered guide, and she walked us and took another photo. I have a digital camera, and you through that beautiful Wolsey-Tudor-Stuart palace, can view the image on a 2-inch screen after you take the providing information that would otherwise have picture. I did this as I was curious, there just seemed to be been available only on printed cards, which no one something in the alcove and I was trying to look at it and has time to read when walking around. It was a very see something. When I viewed the photo I had just taken rewarding experience, and an appropriate “end” to on the camera, I thought I saw a face, but it was hard to the Middleham experience, as far as I was concerned. tell. I sat there looking from the camera to the alcove try- On the way back to Magor, Becky granted one of ing to figure it out. I never saw a face while I was standing my wishes. It never dawned on me that Oxford was in the castle. I wasn’t sure what I had on the photo, but a not on a direct route to Wales. Becky took me to see couple days later we looked and couldn’t believe what we Minster Lovell. I had not realized there was so much saw. Maybe he had heard my earlier request for a picture. of the manor house left standing. It was beautifully I don’t necessarily believe in things like this, so I tried to impressive in the late afternoon sun. I couldn’t have explain it away to myself. Could it just have been the stone been more delighted. and plaster looking like a face? I could probably say that if Becky is crusading to save Pen Coed, an old castle it weren’t for the eyes, but I just can’t get past those eyes. In near her home in Wales, derelict-but-restorable if the two photos the eyes seemed to have moved as though sufficient funds were to be found. Unfortunately, it is they followed me when I changed position. I have taken currently slated to be demolished to make room for a thousands of pictures of castles before and never have I theme park. It is a beautiful place. One can only though to have a photo like this. I do believe that I took a hope that the developers will be prevailed upon not to picture of something from a past world. destroy it. I rang the owner of the castle to tell him about the pic- Alas, all good things come to an end sometime. I ture I had taken. He told me that the alcove used to lead to wish to thank Marilynn and Becky especially, and all a small chamber under the guardroom. He didn’t know my other friends, for making this visit to Britain such what the room was used for, and just said it was empty and a special one. Oh, and Geoffrey, too, deserves my un- they had blocked it off. dying gratitude, as does Paul. My love, gratitude and When we returned home I put the photo up on the best wishes to all my dearest friends, and their Internet and asked the members of a discussion list I run friends. called Later Medieval Britain to have a look at it. We still haven’t reached any real explanation. You can also view From Becky Vacara on her ghost at Bolton Castle: the photos by going to http://www.homeusers. prestel.co.uk. The photos seem to have trouble being viewed on larger It was a Saturday when we decided to visit Castle monitors, anything over 15” may have problems. If anyone Bolton. The day was overcast but it simply added to the would like to join the list you can do this from the web site, beauty of the moors. As we wandered around, Marilynn we would be happy to have you. Summers and I ended up in the guardroom. We both had

Fall, 1999 - 14 - Ricardian Register The Other Side of the Story

Janet M. Trimbath Two times in my memory the American Branch of the Richard III Society has come to the aid of teachers requesting assistance in teaching about our favorite Medieval king. In both cases members of the Ameri- can Branch sent copies of Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of King Richard III and Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time, to help teachers present two sides of the life and times of Richard III. The most recent occasion was documented by Laura Blanchard in the Spring, 1999 issue of the Ricardian Register and described how the members of the American Branch assisted Russell Baker, a teacher in Guam, by sending copies of the aforementioned books to his English classes studying Shakespeare’s “Richard III.” (Also see the letter from Mr. Becker in Students in Russell Becker’s English class in the Summer 1999 Ricardian Register). Guam, with a display they made for an academic fair As a result of these requests, a suggestion was made after studying about Richard III. The American Branch sent books and Ricardian items to assist the students on the Ricardian List, that we prepare for future pos- gain a balanced view of King Richard III sibilities by creating a single point where spare copies of Tey and Shakespeare could be stored. I would be willing to serve as the focal point for It is the ultimate goal of The Richard III Society, collecting and storing these second-hand books and “to promote in every possible way research into the will do the mailing out when the time comes. Since life and times of Richard III, and to secure a re-as- this is not strictly a “sales office” kind of project, it sessment of the material relating to this period, and would be preferable to keep the used books separate of the role in English history of this monarch.” We from new stock that the American Branch offers for can all have a part in this — one student at a time — sale. in ways and places we may have never thought possible. This is a relatively inexpensive way to tell ‘the other side of the story’ to students studying Richard III. If you would like to participate in this project, Many times teachers’ budgets are too tight to allow send copies of Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time them to use anything other than the prescribed texts and William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of King in teaching history or literature. Through the gener- Richard III to : osity of our members, the American Branch of The Richard III Society can assist those teachers who want Janet M. Trimbath to go the extra mile and show that there is more than 1095 Sugar Creek Drive one view of the story of Richard III. Rochester Hills, MI 48307

Ricardian Register - 15 - Fall, 1999 Ricardian Post

Ricardian Books Available “required” novels that they have to read for me be [As] a former member of the Richard III Society, and an Catherine, Called Birdy (which takes place in the 14th avid reader, I have accumulated a large collection of century) and The Midwife’s Apprentice, both by Karen books on Richard, the Plantagenets, Tudors, English Cushman. Needless to say, the majority of the class history, French history — both fiction and non-fiction. were quite smitten by this period of time and My books are in pristine shape. I am interested, at this medieval custom and political convention. time, to find a good home for these books (list available) I can’t begin to tell you the number of books and am certain that some of your newer members may be brought to class from libraries (from out of town searching for the very books in my library, many acquired even!!) showing great color pictures of the Wars of in Canada and England, and others now out of print. If the Roses or the British Monarchy or information you have some way of sharing this information with your on people, including ‘didya knows’ about Richard members, I would be most appreciative. III. Of course, the heroine in the final composi- tion of “What character would you like to play and Gloria Kanter what, if any, events in that character’s life would you change?” was Kathryn Swynford — a source of [Ed.: Members interested in getting a list of Mrs. Kanter’s wonderful conversation for the girls. She was the books may contact her directly at 12751 Coral Lakes Dr., Cinderella of the story to them — from mistress to Boynton Beach FL, 33437.] Great-grandmother of Kings . . . Opinions on Richard’s guilt were quite favorable. Most thought Via e-mail: he really couldn’t have killed his nephews because OOPS!! On page 14 of the Ricardian Register, I'm he had no real reasons to do so. So, in our little “Ellen Pearlman” and on page 15, I’m “Ellen Perlman.” mock court the last week of school, he was acquit- One of us is the real me. Thanks for printing the Dali ted of all charges!! postcard. Just thought you’d like to know the outcome. . . Ellen [somebody] Thanks for your interest in the little “hormonal horrors!!!” The right button can really stir those [Ed: At least I got it right in one spot. Or did I?] 7th graders up! ” On a related note, I passed Ms. Watso’s original mail on to the Richard III Society discussion list. Teaching History Tina Cooper was inspired to create a teaching aid for I thought your readers might enjoy this follow-up from a students such as these — a simplified genealogy, teacher who wrote to the Richard III Society web site showing the path of the crown from Edward III to address. She said that she was working with younger Henry VII, with short biographies and coloring book students who were coloring “Kings and Queens of pages for each monarch. Surf on over to Tina’s site England” pages, among other exercises. I offered to scan (http://www.yorkist.com) and see what one motivated and put up some of the finished works, and asked her to Ricardian can do to help the cause of teaching the fif- keep in touch. Here is her reply: teenth century! Laura Blanchard “This is Nikki Watson — experimenting with teaching Richard III to 7th graders. Did offer to have coloring book entries scanned as a prize, but Greyfriars everybody wanted to create history books with them The article “Greyfriars Friary” by David L. Treybig and take them home bound in paper tablets and which appeared in the Spring, 1999 issue of the adorned with borders, decorated letters, or tissue Ricardian Register has prompted me to write this letter, paper stained glass. ...soIjust let them go with it. It which I had intended to write several years ago. was a wonderful success. . . .and those that hoped to The standard historical line has been that after be with me in the 8th grade requested that 2 of the Richard III was killed at Bosworth Field his body was

Fall, 1999 - 16 - Ricardian Register taken to Leicester where it was publicly displayed to Lawrence Olivier in the title role. I ‘knew’ that that show the populace that he was indeed dead. His body version was wrong and I started to read anything I could was then given to the Greyfriars for burial in their find on him. I started with the biography by Paul M. Friary. Later, so the story goes, his bones were disin- Kendall. I have (or had, I can only find the first volume terred and thrown into the River Soar. Like many now) the 4-volume set of the history of the Plantagenets Ricardians, my husband and I visited the site of the by Thomas Costain. I also have several novels about Friary and paid our respects to Richard in the Richard including We Speak No Treason and The Sunne in Leicester Cathedral and also visited the site on Bow Splendor. Bridge where there is a memorial marker. Back in the ’70’s a friend and I just about re-fought It was sometime after this visit that I read the the War of the Roses because her favorite king was book, Catherine of Aragon by Garrett Mattingly, copy- Henry VIII. I still have a 3-D plaster picture she gave right 1941 and published by Little, Brown and Com- me of Richard mounted for battle with the pany, Boston. On Page 312 (Part III, Chapter III) he Plantagenet shield in one corner and the White Boar wrote, and I quote, “The aisle of Leicester Abbey, in the other. And though time and interests moved on where the body of Thomas Wolsey was laid near the I have always had white roses on display somewhere in body of Richard III, popular hatred christened ‘the my house. tyrants grave’... ”Unfortunately, this was not refer- This past summer I rediscovered Richard while do- enced so I was left in the dark as to where Mr. ing genealogy. Someone has done extensive research Mattingly found information stating that Richard III on their family tree that ties into mine in southern was buried in Leicester Abbey and not in the Virginia. Those lines go back to the Plantagenets and Greyfriars Friary. others. (Their line even includes the Nevilles and I wrote to the Leicester Tourist Board and received Elizabeth Woodville, though I missed those lines.) I a letter stating that, to their knowledge, only Cardinal did discover an ancestor that fought in the Battle of Wolsey is buried somewhere in the abbey grounds but Northampton, though I haven’t a clue on which side. it is not known where, although a memorial slab to At any rate it has been very interesting and I’ve had a the memory of Cardinal Wolsey was unveiled on the crash course on English History. abbey site on October 24, 1934, near the spot where, according to tradition, his body was buried. Sorry I’ve rattled on so long but I wanted to share I also wrote to others for possible leads, but was unable to how I came about finally joining the Richard III Soci- discover any more information as to the source of Mr. ety. It’s something I wanted to do almost 25 years ago Mattingly’s statement. but didn't know how to go about it, or maybe the time I provide this as information for other Ricardians wasn’t right. I guess now was the right time. and interested readers, and to also ask if anyone else Mary Higgs has ever read that Leicester Abbey was Richard III’s burial site and if so, what are their references? Vicki A. Hild From Anchorage: And from the article’s author: I do not know if you have seen these references (from In response to my article about Greyfriars, I received a unlikely sources) to Richard II before — thought you letter from a British member of the Richard III Society. might be interested. This person was kind enough to enclose a new tourist map of central Leicester. Herman Melville, Moby Dick, 1851, Chapter 55, forth to I’m enclosing the map with this letter. As you will last paragraph: notice, it does a good job of showing the whereabouts of Castle Gardens, the statue of Richard III, and Bow As for the sing-painters’ whales seen in the streets Bridge. It makes no mention of the Greyfriars monas- hanging over the shops of oil-dealers, what shall be tery, but at least the streets surrounding where it was said of them? They are generally Richard III whales, are clearly visible. with dromedary humps, and very savaage; David Treybig, Ph.D. breakfasting on three or four sailor tarts, that is whaleboats full of mariners: their deformities (via e-mail, from a new member) floundering in seas of blood and blue paint. I feel that I have rediscovered an old friend in Richard. I first became fascinated by him back in the 1970’s oddly But these manifold mistakes in depicting the whale enough while watching Shakespeare’s version with Sir are not so very surprising after all.

Ricardian Register - 17 - Fall, 1999 Ricardian Post Was he saying that the misrepresentation of whales Hollywood, the manufacturer of both dreams and was similar to the misrepresentation of Richard III? nightmares, always has been of two minds about how to portray those who, like Richard III, are “rudely stamp’d.” It has settled on one of two sterotypical Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln, responses: sentimentalize or demonize. The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, 1982, Part Three, Chapter eleven, The story of Wolfram von Eschenbach, fifth to last paragraph: email from Ellen Perlman: From the second issue of “All Animals,” a publication of the Humane Society of the United States: The first line Indeed Fulques, count of Anjou, himself became, so to of a story about seahorses, “The Darling of the Sea,” is: speak, an ‘honorary’ of ‘part-time’ Templar. In 1131, Richard III once offered his kingdom for a horse. moreover, he married Godfroi de Bouillon’s niece, the legendary Melusine, and became king of Jerusalem. According to the ‘Prieure documents’, the lords of [Ed note: Did I get it right?] Anjou — the Plantagenet family — were thus allied Ask and ye shall receive to the Merovingian bloodline. And the name of I saw your column. I thought I’d write about your Plantagenet may even have been intended to echo, question about lager. I belong to the Beer Can Collectors ‘Plant-Ard’ or Plantard. of America and the National Association of Breweriana Advertising. As you can guess, I know a bit about beer. The bloodline in question is based on the premise Lager has no connection with large. Lager is pronounced that Jesus had children before his ministry. It goes on logger, it is a type of beer like ale, stout, porter, and bock. that the holy family moved to France after his cruci- Lager beer originated in Bohemia. It’s a bottom-fermented fixion. The Holy Grail was really the bloodline of Je- beer while ale is a top fermented beer. Lager is fermented sus. This sections links that bloodline to that of at colder temp, ale is fermented at warmer temp. As you Richard III. probably know, ale originated in England around the 7th Carl M. Hild century. It was popular in the U.S. until the 1840’s, when German immigrants came to the U.S. They brought with them the lagering process. It quickly replaced ale as the preferred beer. Today lager accounts for 90 percent of Note with newspaper clipping: all beer produced in the U.S. I hope this answers your Don’t you hate writers who accept Shakespeare’s question. description of Ricard and use it as accepted fact? Albert Doughty Ricardians know better, and the columnist should too. I always enjoy the Register. Thanks for all you do. From England: Anna Stites I have just recently joined the King Richard III Society in England, but I found your webpage on the internet first! ...Mylocal library in Bury lets me have some information from the internet at their own expense, very [Ed. Note: Ms. Stites encloses a clipping from the Dallas largely I think because they know I am interested in Morning Post of a column by Charles Krauthammer, from English Medieval history. which I quote below. I’m not sure if the writer here meant to You and your Society may be able to help me with a ‘hit on’ Richard: bit of English local history research. Sir Thomas Pilkington was Lord of the Manor of Bury and Early on, kids learn the rule of thumb for sorting out Pilkington and survived the Battle of Bosworth Field the good guys from the bad guys in the movies: the and the accession of King Henry VII. He finally met good-looking guy is good, and the bad-looking guy is his death at the Battle of Stoke, on the failure of the bad. And if he has something visibly wrong with him Perkin Warbeck rebellion. Sir Thomas Pilkington’s — say a limp or a scar — he will be an especially cruel uncle, Sir John Pilkington, is somewhat better known, one. not least because he made a substantial contribution to the Collegiate Church in Manchester (nearby). Of course, Hollywood didn’t invent this cultural The Barton Library in London is both very helpful convention. It is a tradition that goes back at least as and very useful. They would afford you some very far as Richard III, whose “deformed, unfinish’d... good ideas too, as, indeed, they have done for me. I half made up body” prefigured the disfigurement of his have been associated with the local history in Bury for soul. rather more than twenty years, although this

Fall, 1999 - 18 - Ricardian Register departure into the study of medieval Bury is an inno- Margaret of Anjou, Diana Dun;, Monarchy Renovated vation. Approximately twenty-five years ago substan- 1461-1509, A.J. Pollard; The House of Bowes & the tial remains of the medieval castle in Bury were Wars of the Roses, A.J. Pollard; The Renaissance Court archeologically excavated amidst much excitement. of England, Florence and Burgundy, David Loades; and No one knew Bury ever had a castle, or had long for- Cardinal Beaufort, Gerald Harriss. Prices on the Clarence gotten about it: at the time of writing this site is being book are £15 for the hardback and £10 for the paperback.] “landscaped” as a garden of ease. We do know that Sir Thomas Pilkington obtained a licence to crenellate all From Laura Blanchard, on the R3 discussion list: his castles in 1469 and that he was attainted after I found this on the Hinckley Times's web site folklore 1485. Whilst it is understood his castles to have been section, and thought it might be of interest to members. sleighted, it is interesting to find that they were being The notion of Richard III, spectral preservationist, fortified again a hundred and fifty years later in the appeals to me: English Civil War. Are any of your members interested in Sir Thomas The ghost of Ambion Wood Pilkington, his life and times? It is conceivable that you number amongst your membership some home- The following strange event took place on New Year’s sick, ex-patriate Lancastrians, (or Yorkists — Sir Day 1992. Thomas was a Yorkist) willing to discuss with me the For commercial purposes a substantial part of fate and fortune of Sir Thomas Pilkington. Ambion Wood had been cut away. Two men were Charles R. N. Walker walking near to where this had taken place. It was late afternoon and it was beginning to get dark. [Ed. Note: Members wishing to respond directly can contact Suddenly, they saw a figure emerging from the Mr. Walker at 35 Cromer Road, Brandlesholme, BURY, wood. He was wearing a luminous green cloak and a BL8 LES, U.K.] golden crown. The apparition walked from the wood and seemed to glide alongside the canal. One of the men turned and ran but then stood False Fleeting Perjur’d Clarence transfixed and watched the spectre move an arm in I note that in the June edition of the Ricardian Bulletin, the direction of the felled portion of Ambion Wood, Diane Horlsey laments that False Fleeting Perjur’d as if complaining about the change to the Clarence is not in print. It is!! Headstart History neighbourhood. Publishing reprinted it in hardback and paperback in The ghost then turned and moved backwards to- 1992! Copies may be obtained through the History wards the wood. When it reached a pile of stones it House at a discount. The paperback Richard III is seemed to disappear into the ground. currently being reprinted and will be available next The following spring other people saw the ghost month. Other titles of interest including the offprint and there were reports of sightings from as far as the from Medieval History of Michael Hick’s Warwick the Fen Lanes. Many thought that it was the ghost of Kingmaker are noted on the enclosed order form. I have King Richard III killed at the Battle of Bosworth. also listed The Valois Dukes of Burgundy due for Richard Sightings publication in October. Payment for all titles should be In Thomas Costain’s Below the Salt, a strange com- sent with order and all orders will be acknowledged and bination of a male rags-to-riches story and a novel receipted. within a novel tale of the Plantagenets, the Irish lord The History House is a mail order bookshop and of the castle, Patrick O’Rawn, says to his cousin, the member of The Booksellers Association. We will ob- American Senator Richard O’Rawn “ ...I’vebeen tain any new book for you whether it is published in doing something on the character of Richard III and this country or the USA at a discount of at least 10%! taking a few bits of skin off that lady who tried to If the book is a present, we will gift wrap it free. We whitewash him . . .” can supply book tokens and the Bookseller Associa- Since the book was copyrighted in 1957, I’m as- tion special Christmas Catalogue: Books for Giving. suming “that lady” was Josephine Tey. But maybe not. [Ed. Note: Members wishing to contact The History House Have a great AGM. Sorry to miss it. Please spell may do so at The Old Brewery, Priory Lane, Burford Oxon, my name right, if you use this. Thanks. OX18 4SG UK, e-mail: [email protected] and fax (01993)824129. The enclosure lists several offprints for a Ellen PERLMAN volume discount of £14, which appears reasonable. Included in this set are Warwick the Kingmaker, Michael Hicks;

Ricardian Register - 19 - Fall, 1999 American Branch Members Who Joined 01-JUN-99 Through 31-AUG-99

Justin T. Beck Jacqueline M. Jarvis Kathryn Simmons Jill Bradley Cheryl Jorgensen Joy A. Simpson D. E. Bristow Margaret Koelliker Carmen Smith D. Michael Caudill Tiya Madden Ted E. Crump Michael B. & Kelly Martin-Davis Katie Spoo Judy K. Farrell Rania Melhem Shawn C. Tanner Donna Flatley Alexandra Merton Anne M. Van de Castle Richard Foster Pamela Mills Alexandra von Wrede LaRue Foster, J.D. Keith Molesworth Gilman DeWayne Warren Paul E. Gemmill Katherine Plisko Mary M. Helffrich Martha Rieth Patricia Watson Cindy Hopkins Edward S. Riggs Daniel Wright Ruth Humleker Julia Crosser Scarborough Jill Richards Young Studies in England

Long-time Society member Carol Bessette of Springfield, Virginia reports that there will be three courses of interest to Ricardians offered at Clare College in Cambridge, England, July 9-22, 2000.

• Shakespeare in His World and Ours will discuss Carol will be happy to talk to any Society members Shakespeare’s plays in the context of the theater for who are interested in the program; call her at (703) which he wrote; the dramatic conventions he in- 569-1875 or e-mail [email protected]. herited, and the dominant beliefs of his society and the way modern actors, directors and playgoers in- Greetings from The U.K. terpret them. The Society in the UK — sometimes referred to by • When Pope Urban II preached the First Crusade in American members as ‘the Parent Society’ — sends 1295, he inaugurated a movement that would last greetings to the American Branch on the occasion of until the end of the Middle Ages and affect every its Annual General Meeting. region of western Christendom. The Crusades: Europe’s Holy Wars will examine the origins of the It has been, as usual, a busy year, and we continue crusading movement and its development in the to be impressed by the industry of your webmaster 12th and 13th centuries. [/mistress] and her helpers: the American Branch website leads the way, and is quite a mature being • The Tudor Age is a detailed analysis of the cultural now. The Society website is much younger, and will history of an age that has a strong hold on the popu- reach its first birthday at the time of the AGM. lar imagination: the lives of Henry VII and VIII and Elizabeth I, the routing of the Spanish Armada, and This year we have seen both the pleasures and pit- the creative genius of Shakespeare will all be ex- falls of electronic communication, but even the latter plored for a deeper understanding of their times. has had a positive side, and enabled a learning exercise. Founded in the early 14th century, Clare is the sec- We had excellent weather for Bosworth this year, ond oldest of the Cambridge colleges. Its grounds after a run of poor years, but were sorry not to have span the River Cam, and are located just a short walk the presence of yourself, [i.e., Compton Reeves] and from the center of town, yet it enjoys a peaceful loca- hope to see you again in future years — even if you tion in extensive riverside gardens that are among the bring rain with you! loveliest in Cambridge. With all good wishes to you, and your AGM. Contact Dr. Joann Painter, 714 Sassafras Street, Erie, PA 16501 for further information, or call her at Yours sincerely, (814) 456-0757. Elizabeth M. Nokes

Fall, 1999 - 20 - Ricardian Register Exhibitionists Wanted! 1999 Ricardian Tour

Looking for brave Ricardians, who are planning to Lois Griffiths attend the AGM in New York City Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2000, to express their interest in helping to put on a Reader’s Theater version of Maria Torres’ new play, The 1999 Ricardian tour arranged by Linda Loyalty Lies. No previous acting experience required, Treybig enjoyed lovely weather and the beauties of but if you have it all the better! late June in England, visiting such Ricardian high- The play, read in this format, runs about 90 lights as Middleham Castle and Bosworth Field, as minutes. Characters needed (in order of role well as the more obscure Eastwell church ruins, San- importance): dal Castle in Wakefield, Crowland Abbey and Gainesborough Old Hall. Richard Buckingham We spent a day in York, and were impressed by the Morton careful restoration of Barley Hall — then we had time Thomas Stanley to shop, went to the Treasurer’s House for lunch, and Elizabeth Woodville/Anne Neville to the Minster in the afternoon. English Ricardian Hastings friends joined us at several of our stops — Edward V Middleham, Sandal Castle, Bosworth Field and Rivers Great Malvern Priory church — deepening our ap- Stillington preciation with their local knowledge.

Please e-mail me, or send snail mail if you aren’t This sounds like a travelogue, but we also visited the connected, and indicate which role you might be in- castles of Bodiam, Hedingham (Earls of Oxford), terested in. It would be helpful if you could include a Ashby-de-la-Zouche (Hastings), Conisbrough (Dukes general description of yourself, any acting experience of York), Stokesay, Warwick and Ludlow; the cathedrals and your voice type (deep, high, etc.) so we can try of Canterbury and Ely; Kings and Queens Colleges in and match the characters as best we can. Maria will Cambridge; ruins of Battle Abbey and Jervaulx Abbey; serve as consultant in the final choices! Again, you Selby and Tewkesbury Abbeys and Sutton Cheyney DON’T need to have stage experience, but it would church; and the beautiful and fragrant gardens at Great help. You will receive a copy of the play in good time Dixter and Haddon Hall. to get a feel for your role before we meet for a re- Careful planning made all this possible — we pro- hearsal sometime during the AGM. gressed up the eastern side of the country, toured the Looking forward to hearing from you! Yorkshire dales, then came south to the Cotswolds, stopping at Minster Lovell before returning to Lon- Anne Easter Smith: [email protected] or don. We spent the nights in B&B’s, in little towns or 82 North St., Georgetown, MA 01833 out in the country, and always found an interesting Appointment Announcement pub for lunch. Our driver, a good Lancashire man, made our trip memorable with his knowledge of many Joy Simpson has been appointed Interim Director parts of the country. of Advancement for the Society. By her own admis- sion, Joy has been a Ricardian fanatic for years and We were even able to work in a couple of genealog- devoted to the cause. She recently joined the Society ical photo stops — Wicken Bonhant in Essex for and volunteered to help with fundraising. Margaret Drake, who is a Bradbury, and Spofforth Joy has more than 15 years experience in fundrais- castle, where my paternal Spofford family came from. ing and development work. She has run annual and capital campaigns, including designing all of the writ- Among the highlights for us was a chance to see ten materials for them, written grants, solicited gifts the southeast and Channel coast (we loved the in kind, set up major gift societies, instituted and Cinque Port of Rye); an exhibit on the Kingmaker planned giving programs (bequests, charitable re- arming for the Battle of Barnet at Warwick Castle; mainder unitrusts, etc.) and lots more. and Middleham, even in our one day of rain. But She is working on her masters degree in addition don’t ask about sore muscles from climbing to the bat- to holding a full time job as Director of Major Gifts tlements of castles, and the infamous Ring Road for the Citadel. around Leicester!

Ricardian Register - 21 - Fall, 1999 Annual Appreciation Award Citations

The Board together with Ex Officio members Webmaster Laura Blanchard and Ricardian Register Editor Carole Rike decided to cite active Committee Chairs and other members who had given generously of their time and services in furtherance of the Society’s goals, as follows: • Dianne Batch, for her presentation to AGM ’99, “Henry II: The First Plantagenet”.

• CelesteBonfanti, for her presentation at the AGM ’99 Benefit Breakfast on the plays in the Ricardian library.

• Tina Cooper, for her production of many additions to the Society’s Web site and, especially, for her valuable ser- vices in designing the web pages for AGM ’99.

• Susan Dexter, for her long-time services to the Society and especially to the Ricardian Register in the area of graphic design.

• Jeanne Faubell, for her valuable services in the position of Fiction Librarian, 1997 — current.

• Judie Gall, for her services as Chapters Coordinator 1997-1999 and for her production of many additions to the Society’s Web site, including most recently, “Ferne-Ago, An Introduction to Medieval Terms and Words”, and for other long-time services to the Society too numerous to mention here.

• Janet Harris and the Arizona Chapter, for organizing Ricardian efforts in Arizona.

• Sherry Liff, for her valuable services in processing membership renewals during 1999.

• Helen Maurer, for her long-time and valuable services in the position of Research Librarian.

• Rania Melhem, for her valuable services in AGM ’99 preparation and hospitality.

• Roxane Murph, for recruiting and selecting speakers for AGM ’99 and for her own presentation to AGM ’99, “Shakespeare, Genetics, Malformations, and The War of the Roses”, and for other long-time services to the So- ciety too numerous to mention here.

• Nancy Northcott, for her valuable services in the position of Coordinator for the William B. Schallek Memorial Graduate Fellowships Award since 1997 — current.

• Judith Pimental, for volunteering to make the Grand Prize for the AGM ’99 Schallek raffle.

• Jennifer Reed, for her valuable services in the position of Sales Officer 1998-1999 and for preparing and ship- ping Sales Table items for AGM ’99.

• Cheryl Rothwell, for her valuable services in the position of Online Member Services Chair, 1996 — current, and for her production of the web pages containing the Research Library holdings.

• Yvonne Saddler, for her valuable services in the position of Audio-Visual Librarian, 1995 — current.

• Lloyd Scurlock, for his presentation to AGM ’99, “The Church in the Fifteenth Century”.

• Myrna Smith, for her production at the AGM ’99 banquet of the Great Ricardian Trivia Quiz, and for her en- during services as Book Review Editor of the Ricardian Register.

• Maria Elena Torres and the New Yorkists (New York Chapter), for organizing Ricardian efforts in New York and for volunteering to host AGM 2000.

• Anne Vineyard, for her valuable long-time services in the position of Schools Coordinator.

• MartiVogel, for arranging local publicity and for collecting Schallek raffle prizes and notifications for AGM ’99.

Fall, 1999 - 22 - Ricardian Register Ricardian Reading

Nature fits all her children Walter Scot’s novels. Lives of saints make a respect- with something to do. able 16, with Francis of Assisi leading. Besides these, He who would write and can’t write, can Joan of Arc has 13 to her credit, including one made surely review. — James Russell Lowell in Nazi Germany as propaganda, believe it or not. Of (The headings in this column come from The Writer’s Little purely literary creations, the Hunchback of Notre Instruction Book by Paul Raynond Martin, Writer’s World Dame has 11 different depictions, Faust 15, William Press, Aurora, Ohio. I hasten to add that the statement above Tell 15. Twenty-five have something to do with the isn’t necessarily true. Many of our reviewers are authors as Decameron, though more in the costuming, for what- well, and what’s wrong with being a good reviewer?) ever time the participants remain in it, than the story. Not all the subjects are treated with great seriousness. Think of your story as if each scene were to Monty Python is on hand, and the Keystone Kops (A be illustrated, for that is exactly what the reader does. Game Old Knight 1915). Mack Sennett also made a couple of Medieval movies as an actor. In The Call To &The Reel Middle Ages — Films About Medieval Arms 1910, he appears, apparently “straight,” with Europe - Kevin J. Harty-McFarland & Co, Box Mary Pickford, Owen Moore, and Henry B. Walthall 611, Jefferson, NC 28640, 1999 in a D.W. Griffith epic. A number of countries have This filmography covers, as the subtitle suggests, their own equivalents to Monty Python, and they are Medieval Europe, between roughly the time of St. covered as well. Patrick (432) and the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, and in Only 15 films are based in the period of the Wars location mainly in Europe, touching the Near and Far of the Roses, including 4 about Jane Shore, 2 versions East only when their history impinges on that of Europe. of the Tower Of London, and several of the Black Ar- This enables Mr. Harty to include John Wayne’s row, with, again, one from Russia. This would be a portrayal of Genghis Kahn, and other delineations of the useful guide to hunting for tapes for your viewing same character, including one from the Philippines and pleasure, though I really don’t know where you could one from China, none of them much better. This is the find many of them. author’s opinion, and he is not afraid to state his — m.s. opinions. He excludes Shakespeare’s history plays, as they have been adequately covered in other In submitting non-fiction, always give your filmographies, and anything about Christopher editor more than is expected by providing Columbus, possibly because of not being strictly sidebars, charts, ideas for graphics, European History, though of the 23 films with Viking photographs, etc. themes there are several that deal with the Norse & discovery of America. English Through The Ages — William Brohaugh, But there is quite a lot left. Of the 564 films dis- Writer’s Digest Books, F & W Publications, Inc. cussed, 57 are in some way based on Arthurian leg- 1507 Dana Ave, Cincinnati, Oh, 45207, 1998 ends, including a goodly number about the If you want to write a Connecticut Yankee, one of them coming from the screenplay, play, or novel with a late Soviet Union. A much smaller sub-genre might medieval setting, and don’t be called the Yankee reversed, represented by The want to commit any howling Navigator: An Odyssey Across Time (from NZ, 1988) anachronisms in dialogue, this and Les Visiteurs (France, 1992), which bring Medi- is the book for you. In fact, if eval people forward to our time. Of other themes, 46 your epic is set in any time from are related to the Crusades in some way, 18 have 1150 (or earlier) to 1990, this is something to do with Henry II and/or his family, and the book for you . . . You will 41 are about Robin Hood. (There is some overlap and learn, for instance, that the duplication here, of course). The richness of Scottish word tough was used in a literal sense (of meat) by 900, history seems to have been mostly overlooked, ac- in a figurative sense by 1350, as a verb (“to tough it out”) counting for only 10 films, most of them based on Sir by 1830, and as a noun by 1870. Even if you don’t plan to

Ricardian Register - 23 - Fall, 1999 Ricardian Reading write anything at the moment, it’s fascinating to a word In real life, events of the day sometimes person to trace the history of the language through the foreshadow future developments. years. In story life, they always do. The first three groupings reflect the first three ma- &The Burning Road — Ann Benson, Delacorte jor stages of the English Language: Old English (to Press, NY, 1999 1150), Middle English (to 1350) and Late Middle Across a chasm of 600 years, two English (to 1470). After that, the entries are grouped physicians struggle with the same in rather arbitrary chapters — covering 50, 25, or 10 hideous problem — bubonic years - the later, the shorter the time-frame. Datings plague. really only reflect the first time a word was seen in print; they may have been used long before in speech. I know for a fact that ‘aqua’ was used to describe a Alejandro Caches, a 14th color well before 1970. This is not the type of book century Spanish physician, and you could read clear through, though there are amus- Kate, illegitimate daughter of ing sidebars to catch the eye and mind, but it would be Edward III, have wandered a very useful reference. through Europe for 10 years, trying to evade Edward’s forces. — m.s. A bounty on Alejandro’s head keeps him from prac- ticing medicine openly, though he tries to help the In life and love and writing, when one plague victims in secret, recording his observations in door closes, another opens. a cherished book he has acquired. The plague subsides &Catherine, Called Birdy — Karen Cushman, and returns, again and again, spreading through the Harper Trophy, NY, 1994 Continent and killing almost half of the population. Alejandro and Kate are forced to separate and Guillaume Karle, a Frenchman fighting the oppres- Pre-teen girls will identify with sion of the French poor, becomes Kate’s protector. Catherine’s desire not to marry the They move forward, hoping to reunite with undesirable suitors her greedy Alejandro. father chooses for her, and will Janie Crowe, an American physician in the year cheer the schemes she dreams up 2007, struggles to obtain reinstatement in her field af- for turning them off. Readers who ter a surplus of surgeons causes many to be retrained research Medieval England will for other medical areas. She has acquired an ancient enjoy Karen Cushman’s spectacular book which she believes is just an interesting com- understanding of the late 13th mentary on health care in the Middle Ages. A new century. Catherine, Called Birdy outbreak of plague helps her realize the book’s true won the Newberry Award and value. three ALA awards including 1995 Best Book for Young The story switches back and forth from the near Adults. future to the past. The reader comes to see how much The novel consists of Catherine’s journal for the Alejandro and Janie have in common — their profes- year she turned 14. Each entry begins with an item sions and inability to use their training to help others, from a book of saints. Naturally, the plot, such as it is, their frustrations and feelings of medical inadequacy. comes and goes in the activity at the Linconshire (In the 14th century, there are no antibiotics. In the manor-house. She tells us about the stench of making 21st, antibiotics are useless against the plague.) On a soap and reminds us about mud and fleas. Catherine personal note, Alejandro and Janie are separated from experiences considerable guilt over the effect of her those they love. spell to break up a pair of lovers, but none at all over Fourteenth century France is traversed by a variety practicing medicine with careless panache. I was, of minor characters — people trying to escape the however, disappointed that Catherine’s biggest prob- plague, soldiers, and knights who have joined the Free lem was solved by fate instead of something she did, Companies. These are renegade knights whose lords intentionally or otherwise. are now hostages of Edward III. The knights run In an author’s note, Ms. Cushman tells us of her wild, stealing and looting at will. The ‘burning road’ fascination for daily life in the Middle Ages — so do refers to a practice used during the plague years. So each of the 205 pages of her book. This is just possibly many died, there was no longer room for them in the best effort I have seen at getting into the thinking graves. Often, the corpses were left along the sides of of medieval people. roads and set afire, so many in fact that the roads ap- — Lila M. Rhodes, WA peared to be burning.

Fall, 1999 - 24 - Ricardian Register Using the theme of the plague in the Middle Ages the book’s tone, and several remarks are simply and the near future, Ann Benson has created a com- astonishing in what purports to be a serious study. The pelling novel. Each story could stand alone. Inter- statement that Yorkshire “has always produced hard woven as they are, The Burning Road is recommended men” could be attributed to knowledge of the area’s to any reader who would like a different sort of Medi- violent past. But commenting that Richard “may have eval story. (The Burning Road is a sequel to Ms learned to speak in the harsh accent” of the North Benson’s The Plague Tales, which more fully develops smacks of a bias that, in the US, could be considered a the Plantagenet theme.) regional slur. Seward values “the right” personal appearance, as — Nancy Madison, TX well as “the right” accent. In a perhaps nationalistic loyalty to English beauties — presumably all blondes Always play fair: The reader gets to — he describes Margaret of Anjou as “beautiful in a know everything the point-of-view character knows. dark-haired, foreign way.” More serious for his pre- tensions to objectivity is the description of Richard at &Royal Whodunits — Mike Ashley, ed, Carroll & 12 as “puny.” Here, Seward sneaks in the old “Rich- Graf, NY 1999 ard-as-monster” theme, having apparently forgotten From Good King Wenceslas to Good Queen Victoria, that most twelve-year-old boys are still children. and with the Duke of Windsor and Grand Duchess Seward seems not to know that nowadays, disparage- Anastasia thrown in for good measure, these stories from ment of physical appearance is unacceptable, particu- recognized masters of the mystery genre feature royals larly when it carries the implication that a flawed either as victims, detectives, murderers, or bystanders, appearance indicates flawed character. innocent or otherwise. In one, Who Killed Fair Aside from his personal quirks Rosamond? by Tina and Tony Rath, the royals do not and prejudices — which are occa- appear, but are talked about by the common folk, their sionally entertaining — the book’s scandals then as now providing the basis for speculation main weakness lies in the reliance and gossip. Mostly the kings and queens are English or Scottish, but Napoleon and Cesare Borgia, among on Thomas More’s History of King others, get a look-in. Two feature Richard III, one as Richard the Third. Without doubt- innocent bystander. This is Neither Pity, Love nor Fear, ing More’s character and integrity, by Margaret Frazer, who writes the Dame Frevisse it is necessary to remember that novels. In the other, Happy the Man . . . by Amy Myers, even saints have, all of them, been he is neither a bystander or innocent. The purist may human. They made mistakes; they object to her depiction, since she appears to change were not omniscient. Aged seven when Richard died, narrators in mid-story, without so indicating. That is not Thomas More could never have had first-hand playing fair. Ricardians will simply object. knowledge of political events in the years before 1485. And although More went to great lengths to talk with Peter Tremayne, Mary Monica Pulver, Edward members of the older generation, human memory, in- Marston, Morgan Llywelyn, and others contribute, cluding that of eyewitnesses, is notoriously unreliable. and Paul Doherty wrote the Foreword. People often say what they believe an interviewer — m.s. wants or expects to hear, and sometimes they will fill in with imagination whatever they cannot remember, When you are inundated by an but think they should. Moreover, interviewers have to emotional tidal wave, pour it out on learn not to ask “leading” questions and thereby inad- paper. Then distance yourself from it for vertently influence the answers. Without knowing a time and begin anew, but keep the whether, or to what degree, Thomas More was aware power of what you wrote earlier. of these problems, we cannot evaluate either his Elizabeth Enstam says she “didn’t mean to” write the sources or his work with them. following review, but simply couldn’t help herself. We’re After More, Seward depends on Shakespeare. But, glad she was lacking in will power in this case. except to reveal the attitudes, mores, and mentalities of an era, fiction is not acceptable as historical evi- &Richard III: England’s Black Legend — Desmond dence. Poets, playwrights and novelists routinely rear- Seward, Penguin Books, London, 1997 range events, collapse and stretch time, ignore dates, Desmond Seward never heard an anti-Richard rumor he and otherwise mangle historical facts for dramatic didn’t like. He accepts them all, and even with his purposes. Shakespeare did it all, even in his “history” choices of words, communicates his conviction that plays. A theoretical factor appears here, too. If Shake- Richard III was basically evil. A few examples illustrate speare was the Earl of Oxford, as evidence within the

Summer, 1999 - 25 - Ricardian Register Ricardian Reading plays may well indicate, he had good reason to despise presents her with a manuscript detailing a historical the Yorkists. The earls of Oxford were Lancastrians; as mystery. This is the fourth encounter Ann has had with Oxford, Shakespeare’s title, lands, and standing in the the mysterious Jesuit and it deals with the possibility of realm depended on the legitimacy of the Tudor claims. Mary Tudor being murdered by slow poison. Regarding Dominic Mancini, Polydore Vergil, and All of Europe was watching and waiting for Mary Philippe de Commynes, Seward is no more careful. to die, circling like vultures over wounded prey. They Despite first-hand observation of certain events, the all believed she was being poisoned and they were all fact that all of them were foreigners left them not, as suspects: her half-sister, Princess Elizabeth, waiting Seward claims, more objective, but only at a greater with her “little wizard” Cecil at Hatfield House; disadvantage in acquiring accurate information. In Mary’s estranged husband, Philip II of Spain; keeping with his prejudices against the king, Seward Catherine de Medici, known as the Queen of Poi- uses only the negative passages from the Croyland soners and the mother-in-law of the Scottish Mary Chronicle, which many scholars consider the most Stuart who had a better claim to the English throne dependable and balanced of the contemporary than Elizabeth did. Segella is sent by Pope Paul IV to sources. Most amazing is his apparent trust in the discover if, indeed, Mary was being poisoned and, if judgment of Louis XI, England’s most dangerous en- so, who was doing it. He also investigates the mysteri- emy. Seward actually seems to believe that if the Spi- ous letter that troubles both Mary and Elizabeth from der King considered Richard to be “extremely cruel “The Four Evangelists” that quotes Mark 15:34. and evil,” then it must have been so. I knew very little about this period before reading One of the book’s major flaws is Seward’s willing- the book. I enjoyed it overall, though I found the end- ness to credit even the most unlikely accusations, yet ing disturbing. Mary is portrayed sympathetically and to neglect analysis of the identities, behavior, motives, I enjoyed learning more about her. She was a good and ambition of Richard’s enemies. Without consid- person, but haunted by the fires at Smithfield and dis- eration of the pervasive intrigue against the king, we heartened by the lack of love her people had for her. cannot have anything like a balanced account of his The book has intrigued me enough to research fur- life. After categorizing Richard III’s every action as an ther and hope Segalla was not right in his expression of his greed and consuming ambition, de- conclusions. tractors like Seward uniformly fail to deal with what I hope one day Segalla will solve the mystery of the seems, within their own line of reasoning, to be a very Princes in the Tower, but P.C. Doherty has already obvious question: assuming that the king possessed done that under his real name in The Fate of Princes. the brilliant, tireless, calculating malice which they ascribe to him, why did he never seek to distract at- — Anne Marie Gazzolo, IL tention from himself by accusing someone — anyone — of murdering his nephews? He certainly had the People love to look into others’ lives — resources to have a scapegoat tortured into confession, especially if the others aren’t aware of it. condemned at a show trial, and executed. Any of the &The Secret Diary Of Anne Boleyn — Robin Tudors would have done so. Maxwell, Simon & Schuster, NY, 1997, pb In conclusion, caveat lector! Only a reader unfamil- We ‘friends of Richard III’ know how easy it is for a iar with the literature on Richard III, and unaware writer to destroy the reputation of a historical figure. that there are more than two sides to his story, or Robin Maxwell has actually done the opposite in The someone inclined against the king could read this Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn, her novel about a diary book without resenting the money spent for it. handed down to Queen Elizabeth I by her mother’s — Elizabeth York Enstam, TX former lady-in-waiting. It is difficult to decide if this is Anne’s story or Elizabeth also reports that during a visit to Scotland and the Elizabeth’s, but we know it isn’t Henry’s. When Anne North of England, she “kept meeting people who were writes of her own experiences in this diary, she natu- sympathetic to Richard III,” — maybe just because they don’t rally assumes her actions are admirable. She does ad- care for the way Seward refers to them, but who cares why? mit that she can be shrill at times, often angry, and Choose as your point-of-view character frequently cold to those who purport to love her. She the person most at risk in the story. rarely sees herself as others saw her. We meet Elizabeth when she is a recently crowned &In The Time Of The Poisoned Queen — Ann queen, surrounded by adoring, flattering courtiers, Dukthas, St. Martin’s Press, NY, 1998 and her councilors who are intent upon getting her Ann Dukthas once again meets Nicholas Segalla, a married off. Each foreign prince they suggest, how- priest who has traveled through many a century, who ever, receives a scathing criticism and rejection.

Fall, 1999 - 26 - Ricardian Register Elizabeth’s obvious infatuation with her Master of The Women of Henry VIII Horse, her friend since childhood, Robert Dudley, by Helen Curé caused consternation among her advisors. Handsome, noble, and ambitious, he was still a married man and Sweet Catherine of Aragon was truly a paragon Elizabeth’s relationship with him was suspect, to say Of virtue, politeness, and love. the least. But she gave to Great Harry but one daughter, Mary And lost out when his push came to shove. Here we meet the Virgin Queen at her least vir- ginal. Maxwell suggests that the queen and Dudley Round, blond Bessie Blount was a veritable fount were lovers and she writes of their trysts with the flair Of affection who gave Henry his boy. of a romance writer. The language here is as ornate as Though just a wee bit, he was too illegit, the elegant gowns Elizabeth wore, sensuous and de- So they just named him “Henry Fitzroy.” tailed. It is a fascinating bit of reading whether you choose to believe it or not. Dudley wants to marry her, but how much of this is love and how much ambition? Now young Anne Boleyn eschewed every sin, Will Elizabeth marry, give up her independence, and But accepted a ring made of pearl. let Dudley become King of England? She attended royal dances, but refused royal advances ‘Til wed, then she birthed him a GIRL! Reading her mother’s diary helps her make up her mind in spite of what her heart says. Having had one The red-headed child was like Henry, so wild mother and 5 auxiliary mothers — some of whom That everyone knew she was his. were kind to her — the queen resolves never to marry But she wasn’t a boy, so brought Henry no joy, anyone, writing ‘Finis’ to the House of Tudor in a So he orphaned his royal little Liz. blaze of glory, but with no heir.

Anne’s diary reminds us that she was of a much Jane Seymour was plain as a day drenched with rain, lower class than most of Henry’s retinue. Henry But she promptly produced little Ed. raised Anne’s father to a higher rank, however, proba- The prince was not tickly, but pale, wan, and sickly, bly because the king had made Anne’s older sister, And poor Jane never rose from her bed. Mary, his mistress. Mary was beautiful and charming and tried to encourage her little sister to learn the After years with no wife, the old king took his life techniques of making a man love her. Anne, however, In his hands, once again, and would wed. had observed queens and their ladies and knew she’d The Princess of Cleeves found multiple peeves prefer to be a queen, rather than a mistress to be cast With old Henry, wouldn’t join him in bed. off when the romance wore thin. While this story has the potential of being sad and Young Catherine Howard was never a coward, even morbid, it is not. Elizabeth is moved to tears by Though she knew how her cousin had fared. her mother’s words, but heeds them and is nurtured She, alas, lost her head for trying to bed by them. Anne has shared her strengths and weak- As many young men as she dared. nesses in the diary, but urges her daughter — only 3 years old at Anne’s death — to be strong, independ- Sedate Catherine Parr was better by far ent, and to take control over her own destiny. Than the other sad wives of the past. Author Robin Maxwell knows her history and hu- She took care of Henry, who now forgot ven’ry manizes it in this novel. There is fine attention to the And outlived the old king at the last. customs and details of royal life in the 16th century. The story rings true, novel though it is. Young Edward did reign, but the Heavenly train Whisked him off through the Pearliest Gate. — Helen Curé, CA Mary Tudor did storm and the blood flowed quite warm. Every fiction writer should compose poetry; Her people despaired of their fate. it sharpens imagery and disciplines diction. But when all’s said and done, Henry’s longed-for bright “sun,” Helen adds a useful aide-memorie in verse form to keep Elizabeth, Queen, ruled the day. Henry’s women straight in your mind: She was brilliant and strong; she rarely did wrong. In my grade book I give her an “A”.

Ricardian Register - 27 - Fall, 1999 Ricardian Reading Send all your finished work out to market. that her brother Warwick was sacrificed to facilitate No fair hiding stuff in the drawer. the marriage of ‘The Tudor’s’ son to Katharine of Spain, Margaret curses the marriage. She suffers &The Last Plantagenet — Hazel Bird, Catesby Press pangs of guilt later, as she becomes Katharine’s life- (Headstart History), 1994 ISBN 1-873041-53-5 long friend. The development I liked most involves This book is a work of historical (romantic) fiction. It Margaret acquiring a copy of More’s ms life of Rich- tells the life story of Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of ard III being circulated among More’s friends. She Salisbury, from the time of her father Clarence’s death in points out its inaccuracies to the author after a dinner 1478 to Margaret’s own in 1541. It is well written and, as in More’s home. The book was never published in far as I can tell, historically accurate insofar as “facts” may More’s lifetime, as we know. be pinned down. Its primary target audience appears to The history ends as Margaret opens her prison be females in their late teens. The designation as door to go to the block, attended only by the “Headstart History” is a clue. ever-faithful Marion. The headsman will be an ap- The eleven-page introduction gives an prentice, all his more experienced conferees having even-handed summary of events from the time of Ed- been sent North to deal with rebels, and is Marion’s ward III through Margaret’s execution. At first, I was grand-nephew. Margaret is confident, even so, that afraid the book would have a rather “traditionalist” the man will do his job well. slant. The story line is almost totally revisionist, how- In the afterword, the author lays to rest the most ever, and therefore found favor in my eyes. colorful legends surrounding Margaret’s execution as The 4-year-old Margaret overhears the news (and inconsistent with all accounts of her character, and ac- supposed method) of her father’s execution delivered cepts the version sent to Emperor Charles V by his to the servants of Warwick Castle by a grandson of ambassador, Chapuys. I never realized that Margaret Ankarette Twynyho. She is stunned and sickened, and was apparently beatified along with More, in 1886. cannot answer the calls of the servants looking for her. Although apparently intended for young adults, Margaret is found by Marion Chamber, the the book is suitable for older adults as well. I recom- fifteen-year-old nurse to her brother Edward of mend it highly, if one can find a copy. [Editor’s note: Warwick, who becomes Margaret’s companion and This book is available through Amazon U.K. site.] support through the next 60+ years, good and bad. — Judy Pimental, OH Margaret becomes an eye-witness to history, and we see the story through her eyes. I’ll leave you with two final thoughts: Margaret eventually meets almost every important personage of her time. She possesses an uncanny The number of typographical errors varies knack for discerning both their strong points and directly with the creative force of the their weaknesses. Historical personages appear as writing — also with sleep deprivation. 3-dimensional characters. Margaret Beaufort be- There are worse crimes than burning comes The Meddler; the infant Henry VIII has eyes books. One of them is not reading them. like a pig, which he never outgrows. Upon learning — JOSEPH BRODSKY

Margaret of Burgundy To Be Honored Phil Stone Of the magnificent tomb that marked Margaret’s last resting place in the Church of the Recollect Friars in Malines (modern Mechelen) nothing now remains. It was destroyed in a bout of iconoclasm in the 17th or 18th century. As a mark of respect for a remarkable woman — ‘that infernal Duchess’ as Henry VII called her, so she must have been doing something right — the Richard III Society has designed a plaque to be in- stalled as close as possible to the original site in Mechelen. The plaque will be unveiled in the presence of many dignitaries from the town and probably some Belgian royalty, as well as a number of members of The Richard III Society. Plans are already afoot for a visit to be made for the purpose. The date of this event is Saturday, 24th June, 2000. In order to make this even happen, and in order to have a plaque to unveil, we need to raise about £3000. If any of you would care to make a donation towards this entirely laudable project, please would you send your cheques, money order, cash, to: John Ashdown-Hill, 28, Hughes Stanton Way, Lawford, Manningtree, Essex, CO11 2HQ, U.K.

Fall, 1999 - 28 - Ricardian Register Scattered Standards abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJ CHAPTER COORDINATOR’S REPORT Janet W. Harris This will be my last report as Chapter Coordinator, a position I’ve enjoyed, but which circumstances have MICHIGAN CHAPTER forced me to relinquish, and I wanted to take this op- Coronation Celebration, Saturday, June 26, 1999, portunity to thank everyone with whom I’ve been working over the past eighteen months, or so. It has BotsfordInn, Farmington been a distinct pleasure getting to know all of you. The room set aside for our group provided just the As I leave my post, I can look back with satisfac- right setting, with room for two tables for seven peo- tion at the two new Chapters, Arizona and New ple, with space to display Ricardian books for sale and York/Metro, which have come into existence during the quiz prizes. On a separate table was Barbara my watch. Both show distinct signs of becoming en- Underwood’s decorated Richard III Society cake during entities in the American Branch of the Society. which tasted as good as it looked. The established Chapters seem to be doing very well, for the most part, although those who seemed to have The group was very congenial and the absence of a vanished, such as the Mid-Atlantic, New England, formal program or presentation gave them time to get Southeast Pennsylvania, Northern and Southern Cal- to know each other a little better, plus, of course, to ifornia, and the Rocky Mountain Chapters are regret- discuss things Ricardian. Dianne Batch proposed a fully still inactive, despite some serious efforts to loyal toast, and, our plans for a little of Shakespeare’s revive some of them. Richard III having fallen through, Eileen Prinsen passed out the Ricardian Quiz questions which a It is still my firm belief that Chapters are the back- greatly missed Janet Trimbath had prepared. The bone of the Society and provide unique personal en- scores for the twenty-one questions were pretty high. richment to anyone belonging to one, as well as a Barbara Underwood took first place with 18 ques- superb training ground for national officers and com- tions, with Judy Betten a close second. The first prize mittee members. There are areas, such as Florida or (donated by Barbara Underwood) was a hard-back western Pennsylvania, for instance, where large, viable copy of The Anglo Saxon Chronicles by Anne Savage, Chapters could be formed and I would urge anyone which Judy Betten happily traded for her prize, a car- from those areas to contact the Membership Chair- toon version of Richard III. man for a listing of Ricardians in your area. Starting a A short, informal business meeting was held dur- Chapter is nowhere near as hard as it sounds. It sim- ing which suggestions for our October meeting were ply takes good communication skills and a little en- offered. The University of Michigan Musical Society thusiasm for the task, and the rewards are well worth Theatre of Voices program entitled Fragments (which the effort. draws upon two important manuscripts of early Eng- On that note, I take my leave and reiterate what a lish music) to be held at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic pleasure it has been to serve in this position. Church, Ann Arbor, on Friday, November 12, 1999 at Judie C. Gall, 8:00 p.m. had considerable support. Eileen and Chapter Coordinator Barbara will pursue this idea and get an idea of ticket cost; also look into the possibility of a gathering place ARIZONA CHAPTER for a meal before the performance. October also means election of officers. Joan The Arizona chapter has had a busy year with Smith and Sandy Bartkowiak have agreed to serve as many enthusiastic members joining. We meet every 2 secretary and treasurer, respectively. We have no to 3 months. We are beginning to build up a chapter candidate for moderator at present but hope someone library, and have reports on various conferences mem- will step forward to take on the job, which is not really bers have attended. all that onerous. So many of our members are willing We submitted a very nice In Memoriam (written to share their talents by presenting or arranging pro- by Charlie Jordan), that ran on August 22 in the Ari- grams, which makes the moderator’s task much easier. zona Republic, which is distributed thoughout the Conflicting activities will prevent several of our mem- state. bers from attending the AGM in New Orleans this

Ricardian Register - 29 - Fall, 1999 year. However, the Michigan Chapter will be well Our next meeting will be on Sunday, October 24th, represented by Dianne Batch, Janet Trimbath, Linda at the Cincinnati Art Museum, after which we will Peecher, Chuck Fickeau, Barbara Vasser-Gray and have dinner at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse on the Barbara’s sister. city’s beautifully revitalized riverfront. Dianne reported that the year 2000 AGM will be We are proud to announce the debut of the Chapter’s held in New York City whereupon everybody an- new web domain at: http://www.yorkist.com/, which is nounced they would clear their calendars in order to still linked to the American Branch website. Currently attend! at our site you’ll find such things as Fifteenth-Century Eileen C. Prinsen Life, Medieval Miscellany, Coincidence & Humor (un- der construction), a large annotated bibliography of OHIO CHAPTER REPORT references to works relating to life in fifteenth-century England, and Ferne-Ago: a glossary of medieval On Sunday, August 22nd, the Ohio Chapter met at words & terms, which contains over 3800 entries and the home of members Bobbie and John Moosmiller in is still growing. And, of course, there’s information Westerville for a meeting and some serious “medieval about the Chapter and its activities. There’s also a visi- snacking”. Members were asked to bring a “medieval tor’s guest book and we cordially invite all of you who snack” of their own choosing (along with the recipe) can to visit the site and sign in to say hello or pass and we spent the better part of the afternoon indulging along your comments and suggestions. Tina Cooper, ourselves in age-old foods from Rome, the Middle the Ohio Chapter Webmistress, created the domain and East, and Europe, all of which would have been famil- it’s growth and maintenance are the responsibility of iar in some form to medieval English men and women. Tina and Judie Gall. As we munched away, we were assured by Tom Coles, who presented a program on medieval snacking, that This year we celebrated our thirteenth anniversary we were doing something people were as addicted and are looking forward to many more years of throughout history as we are today. The recipes for Ricardian activities and fellowship. some of the snacks can be obtained from Judie Gall, 10071 Sturgeon Lane, Cincinnati, OH 45251-1752. Judie C. Gall More Medieval Bloopers

From John Carmi Parsons in Canada: These appear in The Weekly Telegraph for 25-31 August 1999, which states that they have been collected over the past 20 years by the headmaster of King’s School, Rochester, Kent. I give them here with the editors’ comments in brackets.

HISTORY: [While:] Queen Elizabeth was a virgin and a queen. As a [in 50 BCE]: Caesar extinguished himself on the battlefields queen she was a great success. of Gaul. [Though this is hard to believe, since:] Elizabeth found it [in 871 CE]: The Danes so dispersed and routed Alfred’s difficult to formulate policy with the ghost of Mary Queen of soldiers that the King was obliged to disguise himself as a Scots hoovering in the background. pheasant and take refuse in a cottage belonging to one of his [About early 19th century British legislation:] Before the cowherds. Reform Act the British electoral system was corrupt and [in 1066:] William the Conqueror was thrown from his horse. unfair. For instance, many towns did not exist. He ruined the feudal system. [In 1854:] Florence Nightingale never got any sleep for three [And:] Prisons in the Norman period were not like ours; they years before she was continually being needed by the soldiers. were dull and dreary. ENGLISH: [While:] In the Middle Ages, people lived in mud huts with rough mating on the floor. [Literature is tested against common experience:] [in 1215:] The chief clause in the Magna Carta was that no Unbelievable as the Nun’s Priest’s tale is with animals, just free man should be put to death without his own consent. imagine how unbelievable it would be with humans. Just [Later:] Martin Luther first came to the historians’ eye in picture a man running off with another man in his mouth and 1517, when he nailed his 95 feces to the church door at then trying to escape up a tree. Wittenberg. [Medieval scholarship is indebted to writing such as this:] A [And probably more insightful than most:] Why were the verray parfit gentile knight. monasteries dissolved? So that the bricks could be used for the [And this:] The Prioress’ greatest oath was to St. Loy, the Renaissance. patron saint of swearing.

Fall, 1999 - 30 - Ricardian Register Board Chronicles

Sunday, April 11, 1999 1) Barley Hall: Bonnie will contact Laura Blanchard for address to The conference call meeting was called to order at 6:25 PM (DST) send check for £75 to sponsor a “day” for the restoration. (See April by Chairman Sharon Michalove. Officers present included: Sharon minutes) NOTE: Have since received confirmation of check from Michalove, Dianne Batch, Bonnie Battaglia and Peggy Allen. Laura Barley Hall, via Carole Rike E-mail. July 4 is also confirmed, and we Blanchard also attended. are also a member in their “Guild of 365”. Treasurer: The Treasurer reported a January balance of: $44,585.24 . 2) 1999 AGM: An article will be in the Summer Register. Peggy Expenditures to date: $3,764.57. Income to date: $6,785.23. noted that ads in the AGM program will be solicited. The program Balance as of April 11: $47,585.23 is set. The brochure will be sent out in late July. Bonnie reported that the signature transfer has been completed. 3) Future AGMs: The hotel for the 2000 New York AGM has been Membership: Peggy Allen reported current membership as of March selected. Dallas/FortWorth has requested 2001, but Michigan says 1: Individual members- 602. Family Members- 84. Total they have first “dibs”; therefore, 2001 AGM scheduling was tabled, membership- 770 (Family memberships count as 2 per family.) pending information on the location of the exhibition of the There have been 58 new members recorded since the January Philadelphia genealogy manuscript. Wherever it is being exhibited meeting, of which 52 are credited to our Web site. should logically be the 2001 AGM site. Unfinished Business New Business: 1) Inactive Chapters: The situation was discussed and it was agreed 1) Schallek Committee: There is a position to be filled on the that no further action is indicated. MOTION: Battaglia/Allen, That committee MOTION: Allen/Benedetto: To appoint Compton in the future, the Treasurer suggest to each autonomous chapter that Reeves to fill the vacancy. PASSED. goes inactive that their treasury be deposited with the American The amount to be awarded each scholarship recipient was discussed. Branch, to be returned when the Chapter reconstitutes. PASSED (Note that recipients have been chosen by the Schallek Committee 2) Non-Fiction Library: As there is no contraindication in the and E-mails from Peggy Northcott to the Board outlined their American Branch Constitution and/or Bylaws, the Non-Fiction qualifications.) MOTION: Allen/Batch: Award $1100 to Craig, Library is now to be known as the Judy R. Weinsoft Memorial $950 each to Barrett and Diamond. PASSED. Research Libarary. A small label will be affixed on all current printed renewal and membership application notices, and the correction will The endowment fund for the Schallek Scholarship was called to the be permanent when a new printing is needed. attention of the Board. As a fund-raising project may be indicated to 3) Memorial Donation: There was discussion concerning the enable the endowment fund to generate more income, the topic was appropriate memorial for Dawn Benedetto’s husband. MOTION: tabled until the next meeting, to allow for appropriate study and Battaglia/Allen, to donate $100 from the American Branch to his constructive ideas. alma mater (or other designated recipient) as a memorial. Bonnie 2) The Register: a) Carole Rike was welcomed to the meeting and will send a note from the Branch to Dawn. PASSED. she discussed the current status of the Register. b) She requests that New Business all Chapter information should now be sent to Judie Gall, who is 1) Schallek Award: There are five (5) applicants for the Scholarship responsible for correlating the information for publication. c) Is the funds and $2500 is currently available for the award(s). Dr. Morris web site considered a “publication of record” (for AGM reports, etc.) McGee has stated that he is retiring from the Scholarship or must everything be printed in the Register? This topic was tabled Committee. As there will be a vacancy, several candidates to fill the pending study of the Constitution/Bylaws for an informed opinion. position were suggested. Nancy Northcott will be given these d) All Branch Librarians are asked to report their current book recommendations for follow-up. Dianne will write a note of lists/bibliographies to the Register for quarterly reports. This should appreciation to Dr. McGee for his many years of service to the encourage use of the Libraries. Dianne will notify the Librarians of American Branch and the Schallek Scholarship. record of this need. 2) Barley Hall Appeal: Laura Blanchard requested that the Branch e) There will be a sales office order form in the next Register. consider a donation to help restore Barley Hall, a 15th century town 3) Funding publication of Conference Papers: (See January house in York. One day sponsorship costs 75 pounds. July 4 was minutes) Alan Sutton Company is asking £1500 to publish the considered appropriate. MOTION: Allen/Batch: That the papers. This charge is similar to other conference publication costs. American Branch sponsor one day (Preferably July 4) for benefit of (Printing is high and circulation is small) Barley Hall restoration. PASSED. MOTION: Reeves/Allen: To fund the publication of the May 1998 An article for the Register and space on the Web site will notify our conference papers from the General Fund. PASSED. A further members of this project. The E-mail address for Barley Hall will be discussion of the status of the Monograph Fund and budget available for individual donations. allocation was tabled until the next meeting. 3) Wills and paleography project: Laura will notify the Board of 4) 1999 Dickon Award: MOTION: Batch/Rike: That Roxane progress by E-mail. Murph and Compton Reeves be appointed the selection committee for the 1999 Dickon Award. Their report and decision is to be Sunday, May 30, 1999 forwarded to Board members by E-mail prior to the next Board The conference call meeting was called to order at 6:25 PM (DST) meeting. PASSED. by Chairman Sharon Michalove. Officers present included: Sharon 5) Board Elections: As there are no elections needed this year (makes Michalove, Dawn Benedetto, Dianne Batch, Bonnie Battaglia, a nice change, doesn’t it?) a notice to that effect will be placed in the Peggy Allen and Compton Reeves. Also attending: Carole Rike. Summer Register. Treasurer: Bonnie reports an April balance of $47,585.24. 6) Morris McGee Award: The possibility of an additional Branch Expenditures to date: $2,602.46. Income to date: $1,695.97. award, to be given at the AGM yearly and named to honor Dr. Balance: May 30: $46,679.41 McGee’s contributions to the Branch, was brought to the attention Membership: Peggy reports 616 individual members. 80 family of the Board. This issue was tabled until the next Board meeting to members. Total: 776 members (family members count as 2). NOTE: give time to think about the purpose, funding and criteria for the 32 of the recent 33 new members came from the web site. award. Unfinished business:

Ricardian Register - 31 - Fall, 1999 Chapter Contacts Arizona Ohio Mrs. Joan Marshall Bruce W. Gall, Chairman 10727 West Kelso Drive 10071 Sturgeon Lane Sun City, AZ 85351 Cincinnati, OH 45251 (602) 815-6822 (513) 542-4541 Illinois email: [email protected] Janice Weiner 6540 N. Richmond Street Rocky Mountain Chicago, IL 60645-4209 Pam Milavec New York-Metro Area 9123 West Arbor Avenue Maria Elena Torres Littleton, CO 80123 3101 Avenue L (303) 933-1366 Brooklyn, NY 11210 Southeastern Pennsylvania (718) 258-4607 e-mail: [email protected] Middle Atlantic Laura Blanchard Jeanne Faubell 2041 Christian St. 2215 Westmoreland Philadelphia, PA 19146 Falls Church, VA 22043 (215) 985-1445 (804) 532-3430 FAX (215) 985-1446 Michigan Area email: [email protected] Eileen Prinsen Southern California 16151 Longmeadow Roberta E. Craig Dearborn, MI 48120 5545 Via de Camp (313) 271-1224 Yorba Linda, CA 92887-4916 New England e-mail: [email protected] Jennifer Reed 44 Bartemus Trail Southwest Nashua, NH 03063-7600 Roxane C. Murph (603) 598-6813 email: [email protected] 3501 Medina Avenue Northwest Ft. Worth, TX 76133 Jonathan A. Hayes (817) 923-5056 [email protected] 3806 West Armour Street Seattle, WA 98199-3115 (206) 285-7967 email: [email protected]

Membership Application/Renewal

❒ Mr. ❒ Mrs. ❒ Miss

Address:

City, State, Zip:

Country: Phone: Fax: E-Mail:

❑ Individual Membership $30.00 Contributions: ❑ Individual Membership Non-US $35.00 ❑ Schallek Fellowship Awards: $______❑ General Fund (publicity, mailings, etc) $______❑ Family Membership $_____ Contributing & Sponsoring Memberships: Total Enclosed: $______❑ Honorary Fotheringay Member $ 75.00 ❑ Honorary Middleham Member $180.00 Family Membership $30 for yourself, plus $5 for each ❑ Honorary Bosworth Member $300.00 additional family member residing at same address. ❑ Plantagenet Angel $500.00 Make all checks payable to Richard III Society, Inc. ❑ Plantagenet Family Member $500+ $_____ Mail to Peggy Allen, 1421 Wisteria , Metairie, LA 70005

Fall, 1999 - 32 - Ricardian Register